The Arc Knight
by Caecus Discord
Summary: He came to Beacon to be a hero, and that's just... Not coming along fast enough. Unable to wait three years, he's giving it his all now. God help this city, or more so help the hero it does not in fact need. He is the Arc Knight!
1. Night 00

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 00**

 **PROLOGUE [REVISED]**

They called him many names, most of which being insulting or derogatory.

From the Darkness to Vengance, criminals everywhere feared his name. He was the shadows of the streets, the shallow breathing behind you, what goes bump in the night. Who he was under the mask wasn't important, as the last thing his victims saw were cold blue eyes and woven black fabric.

He had been shot at, stabbed at, and on occasion exploded, but still he is a constant as constant as death itself. He cannot die, because behind his mask lies an idea. And ideas, are bulletproof.

He was the night, he was justice, he was _fear!_

 _Or… You know. Maybe not._

Trying to roll away from the attacks were unsuccessful, something unsurprising in a four versus one back alley brawl, though I felt more like a punching bag than a contestant.

"Can't we talk this out!?" I tried to reason through my grunts of pain as another boot connected with my back. In the end, I settled for curling up and trying to protect my face and stomach instead of my pride. "I'm sure you are all amazing people! With great parents, friends, and family!"

"I'm an _orphan!_ " I felt a vicious kick connect with the back of my head.

"Friends?!"

" _People don't like me!_ " It sounded almost like a sob as another kick rained down on my pathetic defenses.

" _Maybe that's because you're a DICK!_ " I screamed back, lashing out with a foot that only met air.

This time, it felt like someone had performed a drop from the top ropes as a boot slammed down onto my shoulder, grinding against my hoodie and basically destroyed Aura.

"So not cool!" Another voice chastised me.

"Don't be an asshole!"

"Rude!"

 _Wow. I'm somehow the bad guy here?_

Eventually, the onslaught ended as they left to find other people to kick the crap out of, though not before taking my wallet. It was fortunate that my scroll was tucked away in the inside pocket of my hoodie, or I would have been locked out of the dorm. Again.

Unfortunately, with my wallet went fifty lein, a year's worth of coupons (Most expired) and a Grimmlock Card. To make matters worse, that card was a mint condition Ursa Ultima, the last of it's kind. It was worth, like, five hundred lein.

"Farewell, my child." I breathed, wishing the card the best of luck. "But just remember… I _will find you._ "

It's not weird.

There is a science, and it dictates that having a father-son bond with an inanimate object is perfectly healthy.

Climbing to my feet slowly, I kept an eye on the alleyway entrance. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if they came back, but I knew it was going to be kick-ass.

"Maybe I'd unlock my Semblance?" I mused, inspecting my hoodie. It looked almost exactly like my usual hoodie, which was where the genius came in. No one would expect it! I was partially regretting the decision to leave my armor at home, but I figured it would be too much of a giveaway. There is indeed a limit to other people's obliviousness, and it's higher than mine.

Pulling off my balaclava, I ran a hair through my grimy blonde locks. The night had begun with my falling off of a roof, and ended with me getting the crap beaten out of me by a bunch of douche bags. It wasn't exactly uncommon, unfortunately.

Exiting the alleyway, I hailed a cab and took an airship back to Beacon. Why there wasn't a ski-lift to Beacon remains a mystery. Wouldn't it be more efficient? But then again… Maybe having the future of Remnant riding on a ski-lift might not be a great idea…

Debunked?

Upon exiting the airship, I proceeded to Debunk all over the inside of a trashcan, violently projectile vomiting a poison worse than any other poison known to man into the can and ignoring the looks of the few passersby returning at this time of night. Motion sickness; also not weird.

I would have said that too, had I gotten the chance. Instead I settled for thinking it, as I usually do.

Wiping my mouth, I trudged slowly to the dorm building and prepared to enter the dorm room of team JNPR. I'm the J in that team, and therefore the leader. It was pretty sweet.

The door opened silently, and I glid into the room like a ghost thief, being as careful as physically possible for one of my grace.

The R of our team stands for Ren. He's chinese, which gives our team a huge advantage over other teams. Unfortunately for me, he was a Chinese ninja, and it was hard to get anything past him…

Hold up, if ninjas are European or Japanese or whatever, then is calling him a Chinese ninja racist? Like, don't Chinese people hate being called Japanese? Am _I_ a _closet racist?!_

Hold please.

...

The internet has the coolest way of calming people down, while also making them wish for a martian invasion. Basically, I'm not racist. Why? Because the internet said so.

Anyways, while I oil the hinges of the front door before leaving for the night, and stay as quiet as possible, it's usually a general waste of my time anyways. I can get a couple feet into the room before tripping over bullet casings, the occasional bag of sugar, or an oddly and probably misplaced Zwei. How the little guy gets into my room? I'm starting to think someone is putting him here on purpose.

A certain someone...

"Yo!" I shouted as my foot caught on something, and I tumbled face-first into my nightstand.

 _God damn, crapping douche-it crappity crap!_

I could have moved at any time I wanted to, but I instead settled for lying face-down on the floor, trying to ignore the throbbing of my forehead.

Eventually, I decided it was safe to get up, and found my team still sleeping peacefully. Even Ren was undisturbed by the noise.

 _I am unnoticed, for shadows make no sounds! I am out of your sights; real, but unseen to the very eyes that search for me! I AM-_

"Jaune?"

 _-SCREWED!_

Dropping back down to the floor as quietly as possible, I could see two bare feet slowly touching the ground on the other side of the room from under the bed.

 _Pyrrha?_

"Hello?" She called out again, and I swear I could feel my breathing stop. This was it, the gig was up. _It's not my time!_

"Hm. Must have been Zwei… Again."

 _Or it could be someone breaking into the dorm and about to make off with all of our valuables! Stop me, Pyrrha!_

After another moment, I could hear the rustle of covers as she crawled back into her bed, and a light snoring soon afterwards.

Another moment passed as I didn't dare to breath, and I could feel the few braincells that I had dying in horrible agony as they were crushed by injustice.

 _Apparently, Ideas are not immune to asphyxiation. The more you know._

I let out the breath slowly, and got back to my feet. Removing my boots, I put my stuff in their respective locations before changing into my onesie.

Instantly, I could feel my troubles washing away as the tidal wave of love and care that was my onesie comforted me.

Instead of immediately falling asleep, I stared at the roof, as deep in thought as I could go. About knee depth? Ish?

I thought about many things, such as what was for lunch tomorrow, and exactly how many times I could be punched in the genitals before I could not have children, but one thought floated to the top above all others.

 _Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

The sound of metal grinding against metal rang out over the rooftop as the spear slid along my shield, leaving a mark. I had no time to worry about the heirloom as I leapt backwards, ducking behind my shield as gunfire rang out and bullets clashed against the metal barrier.

"I thought we weren't doing anything with guns yet!?" I half asked, half accused as Pyrrha's spear, now a gun, continued to fire.

"The Tournament is in a few months, Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted over the gunfire. "You're getting a lot better, too! I'm sure you'll be fine in melee combat, but we need to practice your defense at a range!"

It made sense, but one thing above all bothered me.

"And what if I was crap, and hadn't blocked?"

She didn't answer, and she was suddenly in my guard.

Pushing her away with my shield, I ducked under her spear, before leaning backwards and allowing the butt of the weapon to pass by my face as she brought it around to try and clock me.

Leaping backwards, several more hits rebounded off of my shield as I held my ground, before suddenly feeling my legs being swept out from under me.

My back met concrete, and I laid there for a moment; dazed as I stared into the sky.

 _Ouch._

Eventually, Pyrrha leaned into my happy-place with a concerned expression on her face.

I accepted her hand and climbed to my feet, brushing my armor off and taking a seat on one of the chairs we had set up.

"You're getting better." The girl complimented, giving a nod of approval. It wasn't exactly a "You're awesome!", but I take what I can get.

"I've been working on it. There _is_ one thing I've been wanting to ask you, though."

She said nothing, which I assumed was the go-ahead to keep talking.

"I was wondering if you could teach me any unarmed combat moves? You know, karate, or some… Other… Martial arts thing."

She frowned. "Oh."

 _Oh?_

"Er, I mean… Why?" She looked confused. "You have already become… Adequately skilled with your sword and shield. Don't you think it's a bit late to be switching weapons?"

 _I sense it. While she does not show it on the outside, she is suspicious. Gotta shake her off my tail._

"Well, I'm not exactly going to be ditching Crocea Mors for a pair of boxing gloves." I joked, giving my best fake smile. From the look on her face, I was going to need to practice it a bit more. I probably looked like I was having a stroke. "I just wanted to know because… Uh, if I ever get disarmed, I'm pretty useless."

Pyrrha chuckled. "Useless isn't exactly the word to describe you without a weapon. You've still got your leadership skills."

 _Right. Those._

 _How the hell do I keep doing that, anyways?_

"Right. I guess. But still; better safe than sorry."

 _You're blowing it, Arc! Think harder!_

"I'm not exactly skilled in hand to hand combat either, Jaune." The Amazoness apologized. "Maybe you should ask Yang?"

 _Oh? Hah! God no. That would be painful. A fate worse than Chess. Er, death._

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." I admitted, shaking my head. "It's not that she scares me, but…"

"It's alright." Pyrrha patted my shoulder lightly. "I'm fairly sure Yang scares everybody a little bit."

"Except for Nora?"

"Except for Nora." She confirmed. "She is truly fearless. Maybe that's all you need? Just, ask her and see how it goes?"

"I'm not too scared to ask." I said, taking a sip from my water bottle. "I'm terrified that she'll agree. I've seen what Yang does to people when she's angry, Pyrrha! I will be at constant risk of bodily harm, as well as testicular manslaughter! _Especially_ testicular manslaughter!"

"Don't you think you're over reacting? Perhaps just a bit? Also, 'Testicular Manslaughter' is not a medically recognized nor legally recognized term… What did they call it in the law-suits?" She mused the last part to herself quietly, but not quietly enough.

…

 _Well, I'm… Yeah, I no longer feel safe._

"Well, it's been great talking to you, Pyrrha." I announced, getting to my feet. "It's been a pleasure. Uh, minus the bit, uh, about the law-suits though."

"Where are you going?" She asked, confused.

"To bed. I'm bushed."

She furrowed an eyebrow. "It's only seven."

 _Right…_

"I've had a long day, and… I didn't get much sleep last night."

 _Wait… No…_

 _She's suspicious again! I can see it in her eyes! There has to be a way out of this._

"Was that you that made that loud thump last night? It sounded a bit too heavy to be Zwei." She frowned. "How does that Corgi keep getting into our room anyways? It ate my cashew collection. All of them."

 _Not good._

" _Pyrrha… This is my burden to carry, and mine alone… I must go, my completely platonic friend!"_

"Away!" I turned and made a dash for the parapet, one arm extended forwards in a fist like superman, before I dove over the side.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

Alright… First step of operation Soaring Skylark is complete.

As time seemed to slow, I realized something that is applicable to almost any situation similar to mine.

Gravity doesn't wait for step two.

Somehow managing to get my feet under me, I landed hard on a window-sill, and heard the cracking of wood as it prepared to drop me to my death.

Turning and leaping into the room, I landed on my face as the sill dropped the other four stories and probably landed on someone.

"I meant to do that!" I promised as I staggered to my feet, one finger held pointing skywards as I straightened my armor with the other.

It was only then did Cerulean Blue meet Lilac Purple as I froze on the spot, the girl seated in front of the small bookshelf did the same, the novel in her hands forgotten.

"Y-Yang?" I stuttered, still discombobulated from the fall. This lead me to blurt out the first words that came to my head as my inhibitors tried to fix themselves, and failed.

"Is that Blake's porn? Anything good?"

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"That was the wrong thing to say."

"Indeed."

"Have you come to finish the job?"

There was a pregnant pause as Yang folded her arms, seemingly lost in thought.

"Nah. Just remember; Tell _anyone_ , and you die."

I would have put a hand over my heart and sworn up and down, had I not been in a full body cast. _The words had barely left my mouth when Yang got to her feet and lumbered over to me, before pushing me out the window with a lazy shove. If I had seen correctly, she had been fanning her face with the other as she yawned. Perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a casual shove?_

"I'll… Probably not tell anyone?"

Her glare made me raise the priority of the promise.

 _I'll more than likely not tell anyone._

 _Heh._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **I was all in all unsatisfied with the original first chapter, and have rewritten it in my free time, namely in between writing the halloween chapters and trying to do something with Gordian Knots. At least one of those is going somewhere, am I rite? Hah, joke about me not finishing shit. I love those. Anyways, you can expect a few more of these on the way. I'll probably put the original chapters up under a different story, just in case some people liked it.**

 **Providing quality since...birth, totally since birth,**

 **-Caecus Discord.**


	2. Night 01

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 01**

 **FOR BETTER, OR FOR WORSE**

 **-O-**

"I'm giving you one last chance, Cardin!" I warned the bully as he rummaged through my backpack. I would have stopped him right then and there, had his flunkies not been pushing me around like a pinball.

"What?" He asked looking up, confused.

"Stand down, before I bust out the real mo- _hoooh_!"

The line would have sounded like crap even if my voice hadn't cut off into a wheeze as I took a knee to the stomach. Why doesn't Aura negate pain?!

"Cardin! 'Sup?"

The sound of five heads simultaneously snapping to face the voice was almost as terrifying as the sight of each and every one of them cringing and unconsciously covering their family jewels in perfect synchronization. It was like a macabre dance routine with excellent choreography.

Half a second later Cardin was desperately trying to remove his hand from my bag while Russel and Skye turned to flee, only to slam forehead to forehead with a satisfying crack.

Now, I'm not usually one for swearing, but seriously. _Dumbasses._

As Yang Xaio Long approached slowly with swagger in her step and bigger balls than anyone else in the cafeteria, Cardin's hand seemed to have caught in the bag, so he turned to flee with it wrapped around one hand.

Spoilers; he didn't get far.

"You alright, Vomit Boy?" She asked, hauling me to my feet with an easy tug. "You've got to start standing up for yourself, man. RWBY and the rest of JNPR can't always help you out."

"That was… Horrifying." I choked out as Cardin was taken away on a stretcher with the rest of the team. I wasn't sure what his chances of pulling through would be, but I at least knew the fate of his male anatomy.

" _It will be a miracle if we can save those testicals!" The doctor exclaimed in amazement, looking from his clipboard to the boy on the stretcher._

I shivered.

Yang laughed. "You haven't seen horror until you've seen what I can do with a fork, a banana and a cup of yogurt."

"No." I shook my head, still watching the medics haul CRDL through the cafeteria. "I just saw horror. You are currently describing Hell."

"Heh. You haven't seen Hell until you've seen what I can-"

"Yeah, I don't need to hear that." I cut her off. "It can't be healthy to relive those kinds of memories. It's… A-actually kind of convenient that you showed up when you did, because I've been… Needing, to ask you something." I specifically avoided the word 'Want'. I'm not a liar.

The next words that left my mouth could barely be considered words, and were more akin to the noise one would expect from a walking corpse; rough, choppy, and slurred.

She stared at me for a moment, dumbfounded.

"What?"

 _Alright, you've got a chance. Just, back out! Say something stupid and completely predictable!_

"I tried to say 'Teach me how to fight.', but I'm fairly sure I had a little stroke." I apologized. "I get those sometimes."

 _Well. That was… WAY too stupid. If only I could quit being your brain._

The Buxom Brawler was silent for a moment, eyes blinking every couple of seconds but otherwise still.

"Yang? Is… Are you alright?" I waved a hand in front of her face. "Don't go into the light! I know this shit, I'm a master of the paranormal. And strokes."

After another moment, she slapped my hand away and burst out laughing. Whatever her reply was had been instantly lost in tears and choked laughter.

"Sorry, I was just… Ahaheh." She coughed. "That's funny."

Another beat.

"Wait, you're serious?"

"Dead, serious, and soon to pick one and stick with it." I nodded in confirmation.

She seemed to not have heard my reply as she folded her arms, becoming lost in thought. I swear I could see the maliciousness leaking out of her ears. This was not going to be a painless experience.

"Sure, why not?" She nodded her head, as if approving her own decision.

 _Whew. The first step wasn't so bad after all. You know, I think my luck might just be turning around! Hello, World! This is the start of a new beginning! A brighter future for all! This is my time!_

"On one condition."

 _Nevermind, World!_ _I'll get back to you on that! Next weekend, maybe?!_

The feeling of dread made it's way to the pit of my stomach; a cold and unpleasant chill.

"I need to test your metal, after all." She continued, eyes closed and a smug expression on her face. She conned me. "So, I'm going to need a free shot, just to make sure you're not wasting the Yang's time!"

 _One free shot? Please tell me you're going to be using a gun._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _"_ _I stood straight, my back to the cliffside as my commander paced in front of me, the helmet on her head and the obviously a bit too small uniform emphasizing her... Assets. This would distract a normal man, but not me! I was born to do this! I served my country well, and this was all worth it!_

 _"You know yer crime, dont'cha?" Commander Yang asked, it dawned on conscious me that this was a firing line._

 _I. Am. Boned._

 _"Uh, Sir, no sir!" I called out, unsure. Yang- Commander Yang herself paused at this, as though this was unexpected._

 _"Well. You blew up some shit. I guess. And you're and idiot. Also!" She continued. "You exposed my indecent reading habits to the general populace!"_

 _I blinked, and then nodded. "Yeah. That sounds stupid. I would do it."_

 _Y-... Commander Yang nodded. "Farewell, soldier! Try to be less of a DICK in space!"_

 _Wut._

 _And then she punched me into space, where my eyeballs were sucked from their sockets. True story._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"The Yang?" I stuttered out, trying to banish the mental movie from my mind. I don't wanna go to space.

"Hm. You're right. You are now to refer to me as the Sun-sei! Lord of all I see, and kicker of all ass I… See? Shit." She seemed displeased with the way she ended the sentence.

"Heh." I chuckled nervously. "So, I don't need to get punched in the dick to learn how to not get punched in the dick, right? I just need to call you… The Sun-sei… Ugh."

She raised a finger, pointing it skywards in triumph. "Wrong! The answer- is both!"

"Wut."

Pain erupted throughout my entire being as I took flight, the stunned faces of people trying to enjoy their lunches passing me by as I crashed through table after table, catching a glimpse of the shocked faces of my team as I went through a platter of pancakes and a cup of tea.

My flight lasted only a few seconds, though it felt like hours, as I slowly slid to a stop at the other side of the cafeteria, and my Aura gave a weak and metaphorical apology for disappearing upon impact with Yang's fist.

I could feel splinters of each and every table buried inside my everything, from head to toe, I felt like a pincushion.

Also, I was fairly sure a pair of chopsticks had gone up my ass.

 _Alright, Arc. This is it, the moment of truth. You can either try to temporarily stop your heart, be shipped out of Beacon in a coffin, dig yourself out of your own grave, and never come back, or-..._

I glared accusingly at the rebelling digit as it rose from the rubble, a single thumb pointing upwards.

 _Traitor._

The moment was quiet, peaceful even. Just me, my battered body, my thoughts, and I…

"Wow! That was awesome! I see why they call you Jaune _Arc_ now! Bitch you flew!"

And then Yang ruined everything.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **I don't even know if I improved this chapter or ruined it. I'll… Just…**

 **Yeah…**

 **I'm not even sure in what manner I have violated the characters of RWBY. I'm not sure of Yang is in character or not, and it's bothering the shit out of me. Where did I go so wrong?!**

 **In case you think I turned this chapter to trash, remember that I've got the other version up on some other story… Probably, I dunno. It'll most likely be called the Arc Knight: Fails From The Crypt or something… Ooooh. That's a good name.**

 **-Caecus Discord**


	3. Night 02

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 02**

 **IMPROVISE**

Combat training is... Going slowly.

This was _literally_ painfully clear as the man slammed me against the wall, the curled ram's horns on his head telling me that he was either a faunus or from a cosplay convention.

"What was that?" He asked, throwing me to the ground and delivering a sharp kick to my stomach.

"I just said to 'Cut it out.' You- _guh_!" Another kick. _Maybe it was rhetorical?_

This time, I held on to his leg and used it to climb to my feet, only to feel another blow to my head, falling to the side this time.

I saw the victim of this felon behind him, already scrambling for the exit of the basically empty bar. The remaining occupants were either too scared or didn't care enough to do anything to help me, so I was on my own.

I scrambled backwards, rolling over a table that was in my way before the man shattered a chair over it, trying to hit me.

"Did you think I was gonna listen to a guy in a mask?" He asked, kicking the table aside and rushing me with a broken piece of wood.

 _Say nothing._

"Uh mayb- _EEK_!" The last part came out as a shriek due to the fact that I almost got impaled, narrowly dodging away and avoiding further damage to my already waning aura. He had been beating the hell out of me with various objects for the past fifteen minutes as punishment for interrupting his mugging.

I was already sore from Yang's third training session. Her idea of teaching seemed to be beating me down for two hours until I learned how to dodge. I didn't need this.

"Stand _still_!" He growled, rushing forward with the chair leg and stabbing at me.

I fell backwards to avoid this hit, landing completely and utterly intentionally in a chair.

Lunging forwards before he could stab again, I brought him down with a tackle to the gut, and punched him into unconsciousness. It was pretty awesome.

I got up, brushing my mittens of death off as well as ensuring that my aura had protected my teeth.

" _Oi_!"

I looked over to see the bartender coming towards me, a broom in hand. _Had he just now noticed what was going on?_

"It's alright, uh, citizen!" I said in the deepest and gravelly voice I could muster, actually sounding pretty cool. "I got him. Alert the police."

The man approaching didn't stop, in fact, he began herding me towards the exit with pokes from his broom.

"Shoo!" He ordered. "I don't need some sort of masked ruffian causing trouble with my best customers! Shoo!"

My jaw went slack. _He was kicking me out?_

I turned around on the sidewalk, pointing at him a he retreated into the building.

"You can silence me, but you can never silence my spirit! I am _the darkness!_ I have _braved the tempest!_ _Conquered those here and forevermore! I am a badass, and I will-"_

The man stepped back out and poked me with his broom again, silencing me. But not my spirit still.

"Yeah yeah yeah. Stay out, or I'm callin' the cops."

I left quickly.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

I had a lead to a large criminal operation, I was sure of it.

Ruby sat in front of me, tears in her eyes as she explained what was wrong.

"And t-they were all gone!"

I frowned. Most odd indeed. This was a job for, "SUPER ARC! Damnit, THE ARC KNIGHT!"

Ruby stopped sniffling, instead looking at me with a slight smile. "Jaune?"

I mentally cursed.

"I meant... The Jaune Knight!" _Quick recovery. Nicely done, Jaune, nicely done._

Ruby giggled. "So you'll help me find and murder whoever stole them?" She frowned. "I mean... Detain?"

 _What?_

"Sure, sure." I agreed. _I am super J-DAMNIT! I am Jaune Arc, the Arc Knight! I am the Darkness that glows, casts shadows upon Shadows, I have braved the tempest! I have conquered those here, and forever more! I am a badass, and I work in a moral grey area!_

Ruby stared at me, open mouthed.

Cough cough. _I... Said that out loud, didn't I? Well crap._

"You pretend I didn't say that, I'll pretend you didn't say murder."

Ruby quickly noded. "You'll let me do it anyways though, right?... _Right?"_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _INSIDE MY HEAD_

 _I examined the crime scene, searching for clues._

 _"And this is where they disappeared from, Mrs. Rose?" I asked, pulling the pipe from my mouth while hugging my coat tight to my body to prevent the cold from creeping in._

 _"Indeed, Mr. Arc. They were here when I went to bed last night, and gone in the morning! Someone must have stolen them whilst we all slept, unaware as babes." Mrs. Rose replied as I searched the scene for clues, the magnifying glass in my hands not doing anything to help me find fingerprints. Looking back on it, I felt quite ridiculous._

 _Hn. The cookies disappeared while I was out in Vale, dealing with the felons of the night. Ironic that one would rob one of my close friends, right under my nose in my own home! The scene has no clues, except for a few strands of black hair, as well as a single fingerprint on the jar belonging to Ruby Rose herself! I highly doubt that she is the criminal._

 _Searching the rest of the room, I found nothing but the belongings of the other members of the dorm, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Odd._

 _"Odd." I grumbled, flipping the pages of my notepad and writing down each clue, or the lack of each clue._

 _"Blake Belladonna." I questioned the girl, causing her to look up from her book. "As the most aware member of team RWBY, have you heard or noticed anything different in the room today?"_

 _"You're here." She answered immediately. "Invading my space and bothering me. Please leave."_

 _I cursed under my breath. Catty._

 _This time I cursed out loud as she glared at me. I must have said that out loud. Damnit._

 _I move on._

 _"Yang Xaoi Long." I said to the blonde, earning another glare for no apparent reason._

 _"It's Yang Xiao Long." She said from the top bunk, rolling over to look down at me._

 _"That's what I said." I coughed. "Have you noticed anything different in this room, besides me and the invasion of Mrs. Belladonna's personal space, and/or the invasion of your own personal space?"_

 _Yang rolled back, disappearing from sight._

 _"Weiss Schnee." I questioned, looking at the clearly annoyed Heiress. "Have you-"_

 _INSIDE OF MY HEAD_

 _ **ARC KNIGHT**_

"No." She cut me off. "Why are you talking like that? And what are you wearing?"

 _Unexpected_.

She appeared to be referencing to my long grey coat.

I blinked. I was supposed to be asking the questions here, but I was thrown off balance.

"And what is Ruby wearing?" She continued, gesturing to Mrs. Rose as well as her red gown. Mrs. Rose waved.

I pulled the unlit pipe out of my mouth, straightening my grey fedora. "I am Private Inspector Arc, and I am investigating the dis-"

"-Never mind, I don't care anymore. Consume as little air as possible from this room during the remainder of your visit—And please, make that as short as physically possible."

 _Well. I can't say that one was unexpected._

"Well, Ruby." I said, pocketing my pipe. "I'm afraid that I have no leads. Fear not, though, for I will find this criminal, my prey, and put him behind bars for three to six weeks!" I promised.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **This may seem unplanned.**

 **That's because it is absolutely to every possible boundary improvised.**

 **I originally skipped a month ahead to Jaune getting good at fighting, then I realized: "Why do I want to turn this into Batman? This is Jaune Arc for god's sake!"**

 **So yeah. He'll eventually improve, but for now he's still saving people as well as hopefully providing adequate entertainment.**

 **Now to fill a month with random plots and Jaune thoughts.**

 **Last chapter till monday, unless I get even more done.**

 **I find that I actually enjoy writing this more than my other stories, due to the freedom this one gives me. I can be a lot more sarcastic.**


	4. Night 03

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 03**

 **JAUNE-LOCK AND WATSONIKOS**

 _Odd._

 _I rubbed the rough brown powder between my gloved thumb and index finger. Cookie crumbs._

 _I was standing in the hall of the second floor, where I had tracked the footprints that led from RWBY's room. The crumbs I had found were on the window sill, suggesting that the thief had exited the Dorm Building through this window, out onto the main entrance's overhang pavilion thing. From there they had escaped into the Gardens of Beacon._

 _I vaulted out the window, finding a single shattered cookie that he or she must have dropped mid-fall._

 _My name is Jaune Arc, part time Private Eye, part time superhero, half time Beacon student, full time doer of good. That is two quarters and a half, but adding the whole number equals two._

 _...Weird..._

 _I am on the heels of a felonious cookie thief that has robbed my friend, and my friend will not go unavenged._

 _I dropped down onto the concrete path that lead through the Gardens, finding another shattered cookie._

 _I am on the heels of a felonious cookie thief that has robbed my friend, and my friend will not go unavenged, but damn. This is a clumsy felon. Also wasteful, and prone to loitering. My god._

 _I began down the path, not noticing anything else unordinary. The trail has gone cold._

 _"Watson? Watson!"_

 _Watson was there in an instant, her red hair trailing behind her as she dropped down from the roof and came to stand beside me. She righted her hat and monocle._

 _"I'm here, Jau... Private eye Jaune."_

 _I nodded, satisfied. I had payed good money to look like a private eye, and deserved to be addressed as such._

 _Watson/Pyrrha crouched low, examining the ground._

 _"It appears the trail has gone cold, private eye Jaune." She observed, standing up again._

 _I nodded. "Indeed, private eye's assistant Pyrrha/Watson. How do you recommend that we proceed?"_

 _Private eye Pyrrha/Watson stroked her nonexistent beard in thought, before speaking._

 _"I suggest that we double back, and search for further clues."_

 _I nodded. Excelent._

 _Upon doubling back, we discovered a patch of flattened flowers, suggesting that the thief was heavy-ish, or short enough to distribute their weight well enough to flatten a few flowers. They could also be wearing shoes made of, like steel. I guess. Pyrrha did not just tell me that. I swear._

 _Our man or woman had no respect for nature either. Awful._

 _We followed the flattened flowers, eventually coming to a stop at the side of Beacon, where all of the trash bins were located._

 _"Jaune, look!"_

 _I ignored her slip up, instead looking to where she was pointing to see a package sitting on the ground beside one of the dumpsters, carefully wrapped in brown paper._

 _And now they were revealed to be unsanitary too! Dear lord, have mercy on their soul!_

 _I stalked up to the package, crouching down in front of it._

 _"What do you make of this, private eye Jaune?"_

 _I stroked my also nonexistent beard._

 _"Well, my dear Watson." I began, looking up at the blushing Watson. "I believe that this is a drop off point, and that the true thieves will arrive shortly to pick it up. We must hide, and wait for them."_

 _Pyrrha nodded as I carefully unwrapped the package, took the cookies, and replaced them with a few pieces of junk. I put the real cookies in a plastic baggie and pocketed it._

 _"Couldn't this be... Dangerous, private eye Jaune?"_

 _I waved her concern away._

 _"Please, you and I are friends, Watson. Call me inspector Jaune."_

 _Pyrrha still looked slightly concerned, but helped me all the same._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"Inspector!"

I groggily looked up, wiping some of the mud off of my face.

"Wha?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Her and I were lying prone in the flower beds so that her red hair didn't stand out, and neither did my blonde. It was actually my idea, believe it or not.

I guess the calming flowery smell, as well as the softness of the plants had caused me to drift off.

I looked to where Pyrrha was pointing, and saw what she wanted me to see.

A group of thugs were exiting the bullhead. They all began heading towards the cookies. I analyzed the situation, spotting about six people. Only two were armed, but they had firearms.

 _Well crap. What the hell have I walked into?_

I leaned over to Pyrrha.

" _Hey_." I whispered. " _Get out of here and get a teacher. I'm going to keep watch on them. If they start to leave, I'll alert you with my scroll._ "

Pyrrha frowned.

" _But what if they spot you? They'll kill you, Jaune._ "

 _Oh, I know that. I've already begun picking out my flowers._

" _They won't spot me._ " I lied. " _Go_."

Pyrrha, after a moment's hesitation, crawled away.

I quietly donned my mask, straightened my fedora, and began to circle around the group, towards the bullhead.

I entered through the side opposite of the one that they had exited, sneaking up behind the pilot.

Now, I'm not stupid enough to think I can win against six bad guys at once, but I can take one out. Probably. Maybe.

Hopefully.

I took the large bag of cookies out of my pocket. It wouldn't be long before the guys outside realized that something was up.

Quickly, I dumped the cookies on the floor of the bullhead, and wrapped the empty bag around the head of the pilot, who I guess had removed his helmet to eat lunch, or breath, or something. It couldn't be too comfortable in that thing.

He struggled against the bag, twisting around and letting out muffled shouts before he stopped struggling all together.

I quickly removed the bag before he actually died. I think. He might be dead. Oh god.

 _Is he dead? Oh god, he is isn't he? He's dead! Probably! I'm a murderer! Probably! Oh crap oh crap oh crap._

 _Oh._

 _OH CRAP! He's a faunus! Does that make me a racist probable murderer?_

I have no idea how to check a pulse, so I just assumed he was alive.

Pushing him aside, I began breaking everything on the control panel. I wasn't sure what did what, so I broke almost everything I could see.

I heard shouts from outside of the bullhead, and knew that they must have heard something. Probably the loud sound of me slamming my fists into everything I could find. I turned and exited the bullhead, spinning back towards it and hiding almost under it.

"The hell happened?" I heard come from above me, slightly muffled by the aircraft's walls.

"No cookies, and now a guy's down? How did we turn this into such a shit show!" Another voice called, sounding panicked. "Neo is not going to be happy. We're gonna die."

"Hey, we were just testing the guy's skill, right? We can just buy some more cookies, and tell her that Mercury came through!"

I heard a curse. "He was intercepted! If he screws up again, but on a bigger job because she tells Roman that he's good, we could all go to jail!"

I grinned. This was good. I was getting some names here. Roman, Neo, Mercury.

"Oi, did anyone else hear that ominous snickering?"

 _Well life, I'd like to say you were well lived, but you should honestly be ashamed for letting me drag this out for so long._

"Don't be stupid. We're all alone out here now. They took the cookies, knocked the pilot out, broke our shit and ran. They're probably getting reinforcements right now."

"Reinforcements?"

"Duh. It's obvious that this guy's a professional, not some random Beacon student that just got hungry."

"Shit!" The other guy's voice raised. "Let's get the _bloody hell_ out of here!"

I heard their footsteps as they exited the aircraft, running off somewhere. Where they would go, I have no idea. We're on an isolated cliff.

Eventually, their footsteps receded and Pyrrha as well as Professor Port arrived.

I removed my mask, heading out to talk to them.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"And then I watched as the guy dropped down from wherever he had been hiding, and started fighting them!" I lied, spinning my tale of bull. "He ran them all off before disappearing!"

Pyrrha looked surprised, Nora looked... Nora, and Ren seemed pretty passive about the entire tale. "And he looked like what?"

"He had this cool hood on, and I couldn't see his face. He was completely unarmed from the look of it."

Ren nodded. "It appears that you had a run in with a vigilante, unless it was just a Huntsman that we don't know about." He paused to take a bite of food. "It was a male, right?"

I nodded.

And then I excused myself. I had training with Yang again. She was no doubt going to kick me around for a couple hours, and then I would cram for the exam on monday.

But first, I had gone to town and bought some... Materials, this morning. They were expensive as hell, and I was using my entire weekly allowance to pay for them. I had gone today for the first time, and managed to get twenty of them from some... Less than desirable sources.

The first thing I did when I got back to the dorm was duck down and grab the two items from under the bed.

My father was often out on some sort of mission by the time I got home after school every day before I came to Beacon, so I learned things from my mother instead.

She taught me some... Less violent skills than the ones my father would have. One of such skills being sewing.

The first was a bag, inside of it the items I had purchased this morning.

The second was an almost cape like piece of fabric.

I sat down at the desk, and began stitching the black feathers onto the fabric.

Look at me go, spending date money that I've never used to buy Nethermore feathers.

 _..._

 _Damnit._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **That's right. I mean, think about it.**

 **Batman's cape, if I remember correctly, was bulletproof, right? Right? Maybe it was someone else, I dunno. The point is, if one managed to preserve Nethermore feathers, they would be the ultimate protection! So if Jaune were to make a cape out of those feathers, his chances of being alive by chapter twenty increase by so much!**

 **Once he finishes it.**

 **Also, they are super sharp, right? Remember in the Arkham Series how Batman could do a cape stun, where he brought the edge of his cape up and knocked them over? Jaune could cut someone in half by doing that.**

 **That's awesome, no matter how you spin it.**


	5. Night 04

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 04**

 **THE FANS**

I bought some more feathers today, but the cloak is going to take a LONG time to finish. Maybe a month, probably my entire life.

I've officially gotten through training with Yang with minor injury, for once in my life. I was all like, _Wow_ , _Dodge_! _Zap_!

I didn't actually manage to hit her at all, but I only got hit, like, twenty times.

The rumor about what happened half a month ago spread, and everyone is talking about the vigilante that took down the dangerous criminals. Get this, they were White Fang! Crazy, right? And I stopped them!

The talk has died down, but they're calling me the Raven.

That's it?

That was the best they could think of? A bird themed name because of the feathery cloak he wore? He could join team CRDL for god's sake.

Anyways, I managed to scrape by on my exam, and...

Yeah. _I'm bored as hell._ This is by far, _the worst monologue I've ever thought of._ There is no crime, nothing. No calls for help, no robberies, nothing to beat the crap out of me. I've wanted a break for a while now, but the silence is... _Unnerving_.

I've made little progress with tracking down Neo, or Roman. Mercury was a bust too. By the way, I have Ruby's eternal praise for tracking down her cookie thief, though she was mildly upset that I retrieved only a few of her cookies. Seriously, some of them touched the _floor_ , Ruby—There's criminal down there!

Yeah, get it? Criminal. On the floor. Because I knocked one out? Floored him? And criminals are filth?

Whatever, he got arrested, so it's cool.

" _Hey_."

I glanced over my shoulder to see a girl behind me. She wore a mask like mine, but two yellow eyes stared through the holes in it. She was dressed like some sort of ninja. There were also two cat ears that the mask seemed to have accounted for, as they too were shrouded in fabric.

 _A neko cat-girl? What? Why? The author of my life is one weird guy. Unless it's God. It's probably not god._

"Who are you?" I asked, readying for a fight.

"Quiet night, huh?"

"I... I guess."

She tilted her head slightly as I rose from my crouched position on the corner of the rooftop.

"I am the _Black Beauty!_ " She struck a pose.

I...

What?

"What?"

She folded her arms. "I'm the Black Beauty. A vigilante? Friend of the Raven?"

I frowned. "I've never seen you in my life."

She seemed taken aback.

"Like... You're the Raven?" She asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "I'm a pretty big deal."

"You're the Raven?" She repeated, more to herself than to me. "No, no. The Raven wears a feathered cloak. You're wearing nothing but an oddly familiar long coat and a balaclava."

I pointed to my hat. "And a fedora."

She paced. "You're not the Raven. This makes no sense. My friend told us what the Raven looked like! He saw him himself!"

 _Crap. This must be a Beacon student that heard my tale. Who though?_

 _There are hundreds of students at Beacon that heard it. Cardi...?_

I paused my line of thought.

 _Am I losing braincells? That was unusually stupid, even for me. Him becoming a transexual is less far-fetched than him becoming... Heroic. Ugh._

"Maybe he was lying?" She muttered to herself. "Maybe you're lying?"

Wow. Okay. She just accused both me and me of lying. Either I could say I was lying and probably be beaten up for seeming like an imposter, or I could lie and get beaten up for lying, and then arise suspicions because of it.

"My cloak was damaged when... I rescued a bunch of orphaned kittens from a burning kitten orphanage." I lied. How did I create such a skillful lie? I don't know. "I'm working on it."

She paused. "Oh."

"That's pretty heroic." She said, turning to me. "You really are the Raven?"

I just realized something. I could use this. I could take complete advantage of being famous. I could... Use this girl.

"Yes, yes I am. But I've got a problem." I said, sounding sad, even to myself. "I also wear a mask. It's like one of the Mistral plague doctor masks, and it broke when I stopped a collapsing beam with... My face, to protect one of the orphan cats." I sighed. "So I am forced to wear this Balaclava."

The Black Beauty perked up.

"I could help." She said. "I have an old friend that makes masks. I could get you a new one."

I smiled beneath my balaclava.

"Excellent."

I have to admit. I do feel a bit guilty about it, but I swear. One day, I will save a litter of orphaned kittens from a kitten orphanage, and I will stop a flaming beam with my face!

Alright, maybe not that last one.

"Why did you lie about being my friend? For the street cred?"

She shrugged. "I was put on the spot. You're my inspiration, you know. I heard about you, and started patrolling the streets last week."

Wow.

That is... _A really bad idea. Holy CRAP._

People I inspire usually go to jail, or get horribly injured. Ask Steven from my old town.

"I... Think that's a really..." She looked hopeful. She had made me into some sort of role model. Why? I mean, I don't know her, but what reason could turn someone like me into a role model? "... A wonderful idea... You, are an inspiration to us all." She was gonna get herself killed.

 _Actually, if she is a student from Beacon, she'll probably really make a difference._

"If I may ask, why am I your inspiration? Besides the White Fang thing?"

She seemed to be surprised, as though she had expected me to know why I was an inspiration to her, when she is probably better than me in every way. Every. Way.

"Crime has always been a big thing, but when it's a faunus being victimized... People tend to turn a blind eye." She said. I guess that makes sense. "You were one of the first people to start changing that. Some people have come forwards with stories of how you saved them, both human and faunus."

 _I..._

 _Wow. Wow. I actually changed something for the better? By getting the shit beaten out of me every night in the name of good? SCORE._

"I did that?" I nearly choked on the words.

Because it wasn't a lie.

I had expected _"Because you fought the White Fang!"_ Or _"Because you saved a kitten orphanage!"_ Or something else that I didn't do, but totally lied about.

But my most mundane feats were what made a difference?

"You aren't a big shot hero, or anything, but you are making a difference."

 **ARC KNIGHT**

I laid in bed, thinking things over.

I passed Blake in the hall. It was odd that she was up so late, but she informed me that she was coming from the library. Some late night studying,

I told her that I too came from the library, despite the fact that she wouldn't have seen me there with infrared goggles and a spy drone. I expected her to ask why I was there, or where I was, but she accepted the lie. I guess she thought I was in between one of the shelves or something.

I walked into my room, digging out my scroll and going to the internet.

I looked up my name, or, the Raven's name, and found a bunch of articles about him. Or, me, I guess.

The oldest I could find had popped up a couple months ago, back when I was first going out to try and fight crime.

I remember being bored of the missions me and my team got, such as escorting people through Grim free areas, or watching Grim. Not making a difference.

I had started this thinking, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference.

I guess I was wrong.

Back then, they didn't have a name for me, and so I searched the page for what had caused it to pop up.

I discovered that it was one of the most recent comment.

 _ **B.B 32213-** Anyone else think this was the Raven?_

 _ **Bigpenis 43-** Who? by the way, boobies! Haha!_

 _ **Darkassassin345-** i dont think so but maybe i mean this person didnt describe him_

 _ **-** I highly doubt it._

B.B...

 _What an observant person._

...

...

...

Big...Boobs?

Barista... Border...

B...B...

I got nothing.

I truly hope that Black Beauty comes through with the mask, and that Blake Belladonna doesn't tell anyone about my coming back late.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **BAM! DOUBLE CHAPTERS! WOAH!**

 **This was pretty fun to do, at the suggestion of Suna No Ken, I present Black Beauty!**

 **I had to try hard to come up with a reason for Beauty to see Jaune as a role model, and let me tell you; It wasn't easy. Making Jaune into an inspiration to someone like Bl- Beauty is not easy, given her personality.**

 **In the end, I think I did alright, but I didn't give Jaune any serious motivation either, so I think it's justified with ARC KNIGHT logic. I needed her to see Jaune as a role model so that she would, without question, get him a mask. I decided that I would give Jaune a Plague Doctor's mask to keep up the Raven theme I've given him. Not bats, but a raven.**

 **I've also made Jaune's incompetence shine like a neon sign, just in case people thought he was getting smart and strong. Because let's be honest, Jaune is going to take a lot more than a couple months of training with Yang to be able to fight off someone like Neo or Roman with his bare hands. And I'm gonna make him try eventually.**

 **Also, any feedback on Black Beauty's character? I've always had huge problems judging Blake's personality, as she seems to remain quiet about a lot of things, but at other times she screws around with her team, behaving childishly like the rest of them.**

 **FINALLY, does anyone get the reference in the chapter title? It's not a Batman reference.**


	6. Night 05

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 05**

 **NAILED IT**

"My mask is riding up on me. Is this even possible? It's like I've grown an asshole on the back of my head, soley so that my mask can make it feel as uncomfortable as possible." I complained, pulling at the worn leather straps. Apparently, this was an old piece of faunus history, though Beauty did not care to elaborate. It smelled funny.

I'm partially wondering if it belonged in a museum instead of on my face, mainly due to the small tag stuck to the inside that read " _Property Of Vale National Museum_ ", but I've got bigger fish to fry. What if it's cursed? Like those bad stories about haunted game cartridges, but worse? What if it eats my face later?

"It's better than a ski-mask, isn't it?" She asked before leaping over the alleyway, a good seven feet, and landing on the building ahead with ease. _Cats_.

 _Only if it doesn't eat my face._

After taking a quick breath and wiping the tinted lenses, I followed with slightly less ease. Hell, I almost fell.

"Why's it smell like butts and dead people?" I inquired, vaulting an air conditioning unit and ducking under a laundry line.

 _And why are you so fast?_

"It's made of Grim bone." The Vigilantess said curtly, leaping over a smoke stack. "I'm not sure about the butts though."

 _Yeah. Thanks pumpkin._

 _In my darkest moment, I can take refuge in the fact that the desecrated corpse of humanity's greatest predator is sitting on my face in the shape of a bird, similar to what fake doctors wore as they profited off of people's suffering._

"Were they out of blue tights and red capes?" I asked sarcastically as I dropped down onto a fire escape and leapt across onto the one attatched to the opposite building.

"You couldn't pull off spandex."

I frowned. What was that supposed to mean? "Thank you, my part time fashion consultant. Do you charge by the hour?"

Beauty snorted while offering her hand from the roof above "You couldn't afford my fashion consultations if I charged by the decade. We're coming up on two active crime zones. I'll take the one with the lower threat due to the fact that I'm new. The one on the left it pretty dangerous, though. Be careful, good luck." She pulled me up, turned, and flipped off of the roof to the right.

 _Heh._

 _I'll be fine,_

 _Right?_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _Well. I was wrong._

"Cut it out, guys! Let's just talk it out, okay? You're all very..." I struggled to think of a word. It was hard to focus over the sound of gunfire, as well as the whizzing of bullets when they zipped by the crate I was taking cover behind. "...Beautiful..." I finished lamely. _Did I mention I don't work well under pressure?_

 _Crap._

 _Beautiful is a word usually used on women, and these are all men._

 _However, beautiful can also describe a day, so does that make days feminine? Would us males prefer scrambling around in a world of eternal night until we freeze to death?_

"Hey, guys!" I called over the crate. "Have you ever notice how beautiful can describe days and women, but not men? It can also describe objects and the moon, but still not men!"

They seemed to not care. Like, at all.

I stood up, dashing from the crate, through the gun fire, and closer to the guys shooting at me. I should probably be moving away from danger, but meh.

I flung myself forwards, landing behind another crate closer to the walls of the warehouse.

I stayed as quiet as possible while moving around the crate, going around their wall of gunfire while using crates and beams to cover my approach until I was directly behind them.

I found it odd. None of them were even thinking to look behind them, and it seemed that they had not heard me coming up in their blind spot. Would a faunus have heard me? Or would their ears be ringing from the loud gunfire?

I wrapped my arm around the neck of the one closest to the back, totally not intentionally adjusting his aim and causing him to shoot out the knee of his teammate. Or late acquaintance. I guess.

"What the hell?" One of them called, turning.

I threw the guy aside, slamming my foot onto his dropped gun and shattering it as I rushed the turning guy.

Before he could shoot, I was on him. Punching him in the face with a left right pattern until he stumbled into another guy, and more friendly fire occurred.

Honestly, these guys were stupider than I was.

Before I could deal with the guy that was stumbling, I felt bullets tearing into my aura.

Spinning around, I ducked under his gunfire while dashing towards him, only to recieve a gunbutt to the head.

Plan B.

I could feel my back bruising as I sprinted towards the crate I had originally been taking fire at, the bullets slamming into my aura but not breaking skin while I ran.

"Vwoop vwoop vwoop vwoop!" I called over my shoulder as I ran. What compelled me to do this? I'm going to have to say it was the lord. Or something.

I vaulted the crate, taking cover again.

 _Alright, three down, four to go. Good start._

I checked my scroll. 1:37. I had twenty three minutes to deal with four armed gunmen and get back to the rooftop.

Also, someone was calling me. Great.

" _Heylo_." I answered, putting my mittened hand to the other ear to block out the gunfire. "Arc here."

"Hey, Jaune?" It was Pyrrha. "Have you seen my weapon maintenance kit? I can't find it, and Milos is looking a bit... Bloody."

 _Bloody?_

"Why are you asking me? I can barely remember where our dorm is, let alone your weapon kit." I shouted over the gunfire.

"I'm running out of options. Ruby refuses to lend me hers, Yang doesn't know what a Weapon Maintenance Kit is, and Blake's nowhere to be found!"

"Where's Weiss?"

"She's out in Vale, I guess. She won't pick up. By the way, where are you? And..." She hesitated. "Is that gunfire?"

I gave a laugh over the totally not gunfire. "No, it's totally not gunfire."

Pyrrha paused, as though waiting for me to continue.

"Then what is it?" She finally asked.

"Uh, totally not gunfire." I repeated. "Listen, I've gotta go Pyrh. Check the desk drawers, kay bye!" I hung up before she could say more, pocketing my scroll.

"HEY, GUYS!" I shouted to my attackers. "I'M TALKING ON MY SCROLL HERE, GIVE A BIT OF CONSIDERATION, YEAH!?"

"Screw you!" One of them replied. He capitalized the 'You' with a bunch of bullets. Or maybe he added an exclamation point? Is this a metaphor, or a simile?

"Oh!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"You guys better back off!" I called over their gunfire. "I feel the power, flowing through me! Ah... AGH!"

 _I feel it!_

They were so surprised they stopped shooting as I stumbled out into the open.

"ARGH!" I danced around. "My semblance!... It's... _Activating_!"

I watched them scratch their heads and cough as I danced around, grunting and yelling about the power.

You know when a woman starts shouting and groaning when she's pregnant, she gets rushed to a hospital, and it's a false alarm?

This felt awkwardly similar as I stopped prancing around, feeling no different than when I started.

"Heh," I gave my best smile, though I don't think they could see it through my mask. Maybe they could feel it. "False alarm."

The moment was awkwardly quiet as they all stared at me, guns cocked.

"Is..." One of them began unsurly. "Is he for real?"

"I kind of want to let him live because he's so stupid he'd die later, but I also kind of want to end his pain now." Another said. "That's not weird, is it? It feels like it's weird."

"You!" I said sharply, pointing to the one who spoke last. "I feel a deep connection with you."

He looked around, before pointing at himself.

"Yes! You..." I closed my hand, putting a fist on my heart. "I too, want myself to live... We're connected."

I heard a sniff. "You think so? Buddy?"

I nodded solemnly. "But!" I cried, dramatically putting a hand to my forehead in a mock salute as I leaned backwards sorrowfully. "You are a guy, and I too, against all beliefs, am a guy... And so we cannot be!"

I turned, stumbling to the exit of the warehouse like I was about to faint. "I must mourn!" I hissed sadly, before exiting the warehouse.

I ran away as fast as I could.

The ruse would only last a few seconds before they realized that they were all idiots, and then they'd come after me to feel better. I didn't want to be around then.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"And so you broke his arm, before leaving him?" Beauty asked in admiration. I think that she would be in much less awe if I told her the truth. Instead, I told her that there were cyborgs, ninjas, and french men, all of an elite branch of a criminal organization. The ninjas are critical. They just give the story a certain _umph_.

"Yes. I felt that a warning would be much more effective to them than letting them be slaughtered by the ninja army, for I saw that there we both faunus and humans working together. I just hope that one day, they will work for peace." I finished the lie sadly.

Beauty clapped. "That is amazing, Raven."

I nodded. "I know, right? By the way, is it even legal to have a campfire on a rooftop?"

Her and I were indeed situated around a warm fire on a roof in the middle of the city as I wove my epic tale.

The girl shrugged.

"How about I tell you about the time I took down Roman Torchwick with one finger?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Well, it was a late and rainy summer night some time in the early ninties, and I was but a wee lad. That was when _she_ walked into my office..."

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"Jaune?"

I lifted my head from it's comfortable nest in my arms, and found myself staring into a pair of concerned green eyes.

"AIGH!" Someone shrieked, and I realized it was me as I fell backwards in my chair.

 _That was pretty suave._

Pyrrha stared down at me, a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face. "Jaune?"

Sitting up, I rubbed the already forming bruise on the back of my head as I tried to gather my bearings.

Seven pairs of eyes were focused on me, Pyrrha's included. Okay.

"I was... Meditating." I explained as I picked myself off of the floor, standing my chair up and grabbing Crocea Mors. It must have been leaned against my chair.

We were assembled in _Romain Cafe_ , as suggested by Weiss. I must have fallen asleep. _Huh_.

"You don't snore during meditation." Blake pointed out idly as she took a sip from her mug in one hand, and read her p... Book in the other. I believe she had ordered white hot chocolate?

"Right. It's an... Ancient technique that... Ren taught me. Right, Ren?"

Ren looked up at me slowly, blinked once, and then looked back down at his drink. Some sort of tea, I think. He's not much of a coffee guy. More of a flowery water guy.

 _Thanks, buddy._

"So... What did I miss?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

Ruby slid a napkin over to me, on it being a sketch of some sort of arena.

"We're talking about the tournament!" She informed enthusiastically. "It's just a few weeks away now!"

 **(!) - For plot purposes, the tournament date was shifted. I think. I dunno, the first chapter took place about a week or two after Breach, so...**

 _Crap._

Nora shot to her feet, slamming both hands onto the booth's table and causing her seventh hot chocolate to jump off of the table and shatter at her feet.

"We got P-Money! Resistance is futile!" She crowed as Ren left to retrieve napkins.

Yang, however, was now looking at me thoughtfully.

"You look out of it, V.B. You've been slacking off in our training sessions too." She tilted her head. "What's up?"

Now, everyone but Ruby, Nora, and Ren (Two of which were in a heated debate, while the latter was still absent.) Were looking at me expectantly.

"W-well, I, uh, I-I was... I'm... Moulting."

 _Moulting? What the hell are you doing?! Work smarter, not faster, Arc!_

"What, like a bird?" The blonde asked, her head tilting even further. If it tilts any more, I'm fairly sure it will unscrew and spill bad jokes everywhere.

"I- I meant... Mo... Mi... Um." _Think! Play your thinking music, Jaune!_

 _..._

 _..Living in the sunlight..._

 _..._

"I'm in debt... With the mob..."

 _Wow._

 _You've gotta be kidding me._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Probably one of my weaker chapters, but I'll make up for it later. Next chapter's got assassins, guns, and explanations as to why Jaune's a pathological liar. Not the last one though. I lied.**

 **Okay bye.**


	7. Night 06

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 06**

 **I BLAME DARK SOULS**

"Jaune? Are you sure you should be playing games right now?"

I only payed half of my attention to Ruby, instead focusing on the black-clad man on screen as he beat the ever-living crap out of the five guys attacking him at once. He reminded me of myself, but good at what he does.

"Uh-huh... Yes." I agreed, blocking three attacks simultaneously, before ramming someone's head into someone else's crotch using my state of the art grappling gun.

 _Hey. I should get one of those._

"Jaune!"

"Yeah Ruby?"

Before my next punch could connect with the unfortunate gangster's head, the screen blinked off, the smell of roses invading my nostrils as a not-so-mysterious breeze passed throughout the room.

 _Damn super speed._

Twisting my body, I turned to place an arm on the couch and face the Speedster that had so rudely interrupted my game. "Yo."

Snorting, Ruby spun in the swivel chair she had drug from her room across the hall. "You weren't listening."

"Sorry."

Ruby sighed. The rest of our teams had gone to see a movie earlier, and I had opted to staying and look after Zwei while they were out. They didn't seem to realize that Zwei had taken care of himself in the past, nor did they seem to deduce that I was staying to attempt to figure out how to solve my problem.

I may have gotten a little bit distracted.

I hadn't counted on Ruby staying with me, however, and it was only now that I realized everyone probably thought I needed help with my Mob issue. They had therefore decided to send the cutest member of team RWBY to lower my guard and serve as a spy.

The joke's on them. I stopped letting my guard down around Ruby the day she almost castrated me in combat class. Scythes; Gardening Tools, weapons, surgery instruments.

Ruby snapped her fingers in front of my face, bringing me back.

"Yang was right. You really have been out of it lately." She tsked, coming to a sudden stop and swiveling counterclockwise. "I asked if you should really be playing video games right now."

"Of course I should. Zwei's so entertained!" I protested, pointing to the panting dog. Zwei sat happily on the foot of my bed, seemingly confused as to why the TV was now off.

"I'm not talking about Zwei. I'm talking about your... Problem."

"Problem?"

Ruby nodded. "What else would you need a bunch of lien for? You're either a gambling addict or an alcoholic!"

 _Holy crap!_

 _Talk about jumping to conclusions._

 _It was Yang. Wasn't it?_

"Or, at least that's what Yang said."

 _Of course it was._

My controller vibrated in my other hand as I no doubt died.

"Well tell Yang that..."

 _Castration~_

"Her concern is appreciated, as well as her opinions due to the fact that she is a valued friend and companion." I finished lamely.

"Wow. I didn't realize you two were so...close."

"We're, like, best buds." I agreed. _Please don't cut my junk off._

Nodding, Ruby rolled over to the desk, poking at my sewing kit. Whoops.

"What's this?"

 _Uh oh. Uh..._

"I think that's... Well, it's mine."

At least I remembered to hide the coak.

"Yours? What were you doing with it?"

"Fixing Cardin's male stripper uniform." I replied automatically. "He is an ass-hat by day and an ass-shaker by night."

 _Damn it! What is wrong with you?!_

Ruby's mouth opened and closed slowly, her face turning first a delightful shade of vermillion, and then a pale and ghostly white. "Oh..."

She seemed to be unsure as to whether she should be embarrassed or disturbed. It's not really the biggest dilemma. The answer's pretty obvious.

"But you can't tell anyone. Not even Cardin. He'll kill me if he knew I told you."

 _It's funny, because even though it's not true, he'll still do it._

 _I'm going straight to hell._

Ruby shook off the horror, and nodded firmly. "Aye aye, captain Jaune!"

"But what about your alcoholism problem?" The cloaked girl suddenly switched topics, pursued the previous subject, intent on not letting it get away. "How do we pay back the Valian Mafia?"

 _The what?_

"Well, my dear Ruby!" Where is this going? Why are you in detective mode? What is going on? "To erase my debt from the Valan Mafia records,"

"Valian Mafia."

"That's what I said. We must break into their main headquarters and hack their computers!"

 _Everytime I think you've said the stupidest thing in the world,_

 _You just keep talking._

"Their main headquarters?!" Ruby asked with a gasp.

"Indeed! Their main headquarters!"

"Their main headquarters!"

"Their main headquarters!"

"Their main he-"

"-Stop it!" I shrieked.

"Sorry. It's just that... Jaune. That's insane. Everyone knows that the Valian Mafia is... Bad. They'd kill us!"

 _Duh. That's why I instantly suggested this plan._

"Then what do you recommend?"

"We're here for you, Jaune! Team RWBY and JNPR can help you pay them!"

 _I can't do it!_

 _If I agree, what do I do with the money? I can't rob my own teammates blind by lying!_

 _Telling them that I'm not in debt to the mob would probably lead to my murder._

"Ruby. I'm a lot stronger than you think."

 _No. No I'm not._

"But-"

"Ruby! I got this. I promise you that by the end of this week, starting tomorrow, this will all blow over."

 _Or I'll be blown away._

"Also, one last thing."

Ruby was already in the doorway, but stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not an alcoholic. Don't go spreading that Propa-Yangda around."

The girl shook her head sadly, as though she had seen countless people say the same. Yang probably said Propa-Yangda at one point, but I highly doubt she's heard the alcoholism thing.

"The first step is admitting you have a problem, Jaune. A word from the wise."

I stared after her as she disappeared through the doorway.

"You mean a word from Yang!? I'M NOT AN ALCOHOLIC!"

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **HELLO, GREETINGS, AND/OR SALUTATIONS!**

 **I may have fallen behind due to minor writers block, but I wanted to give you something anyways. So here you guys go, absolute filler. This won't affect the next chapter's length, by the way.**

 **I'm so sorry ;-;**


	8. Night 07

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 07**

 **PESSIMISTIC POINT OF VIEW MUCH?**

Pacing back and forth with my hands folded behind my back, I stopped inches away from each wall of the alleyway and doubled back.

"And you wanna know what they say?" I asked, flailing my arms in the direction of the restrained mugger.

"I. Don't. Care!" He shouted.

"Don't make me get the gag." I warned, waggling a finger at him. "I'd have to use cloth from the garbage. We don't want that, now do we?"

After he shook his head furiously, I continued.

"They say 'Arc! You're an alcoholic!'! Can you believe it!?"

At this point, the criminal was sobbing silently. Don't be a wimp. I had caught him threatening some poor old lady an hour ago, and had attempted to drop in heroically and beat him up.

 _So. Close._

Instead, a quarter of the way down the building, the rain pipe I had been climbing down tore free of the bricks and I fell four stories before landing on him. I'd say all according to plan, but I honestly surprised myself. I was more surprised by the knife in my side though. Ouch.

"And I say- I says 'That's crazy talk gurl!'" Continuing to sob, the man had begun to try and wiggle away like a worm. I prided myself with being able to tie knots. I was a boy scout, y'know. They kicked me out after the first three days though, when I set one of my peers on fire. I can't be held responsible for his flammability. He was supposed to be made, like, seventy five percent out of water, but his howls of agony conflicted with science.

"Hey hey hey!" I chuckled, strolling over to stand beside him. "You're going to get your clothes all dirty."

He let out an undignified shriek as I approached, and began worming even faster. It was quite the sight to behold.

"Help!" He screeched, probably loud enough to wake the entire neighbourhood. "This guy's crazy! I don't deserve this!"

He began sobbing even louder, and I let out a sigh.

How am I the bad guy here?

"Raven!"

I almost jumped, but managed to stay cooly inside my skin as Beauty appeared out of nowhere beside me, staring down at the writhing thug.

She looked at me. "What is going on? I could hear his girly screams from the other side of the city. It took me almost an hour to get here though."

"Those were mine." I corrected.

"Call my shrieks girly, and I'll claw your eyes out! Now get over here and get me out of these... _Is this dental floss?"_

"Beggars can't be choosers." I said wisely.

"I didn't beg to be tied up! Get me out of here, you freakin' cat bi-" Beauty silenced him with a glare, and we were free to continue our conversation interrupted as he continued his escape to freedom.

Beauty's narrowed eyes focused on me again as I brushed some dirt off of my brand new cape. I wasn't completely sure that it was bulletproof, but it was warm. I wanted to get some fur around the hood, but that was for a later project. Like, never.

"Were you torturing him?" She asked, folding her arms. What's with her and folding her arms?

I laughed. "No way. I was just talking to him."

"I'll tell you anything you want!"

Beauty's eyes were now almost slits. "Mhm."

"I'm serious!"

"Not! You'll never take me alive! Haha!" Beauty watched in what I could only describe as curiosity as the man slugged across the ground, his rear rising and falling as he slid on his face.

"Shouldn't you stop him?" She asked as he grew closer to the exit of the alleyway. He was almost at the dumpster that was placed at the corner.

"Nope. He won't get far."

"SON OF A BITCH!... Are these _thumb tacks?!_ "

Beauty sighed. "Right. Your makeshift arsenal aside, is something bothering you?"

I blinked. "What makes you think that?"

"You don't usually restrain criminals and then try to hold conversation with them."

"Even I get lonely sometimes, Beauty." I protested defensively. "I am a human being."

"You don't have friends when you're not dressing up like a supervillain and punching 'The scum of this city' in the unmentionables?" She mocked my voice by trying to make her own deeper, but only succeeded in sounding like a whale with an eating disorder.

"I... Think we should talk about something else." I smoothly changed the subject.

"Why?"

 _Well crap._

"Because... He's getting away?" I suggested weakly, gesturing to the apparently unconscious form of the thug that sat at the exit of the alleyway. Maybe he passed out from blood loss?

She did a double take, but didn't comment.

See, that's why Beauty has become one of my favourite people since I met her. She drops subjects when it becomes clear that I'd rather not talk about them.

"So did you only come here because of my girly screams, or was there something else?" I asked, pulling out my second scroll and sending a tip to the police station nearby. I had to get a second one after I almost landed on my first. It was a less up to date version because I couldn't afford the more recent ones.

"I..." Beauty hesitated. "You should see for yourself."

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"Holy shit."

Before I could correct myself, my stomach contents were emigrating from my body, quickly moving north.

I barely got my mask up before I lost my lunch into a nearby bucket. I was probably going to need to take this with me, or I'd become a suspect.

The warehouse she had lead me to, over at the docks in the industrial district, seemed abandoned from the outside, with the locks on the doors long rusted shut.

Beauty is part cat.

I am not.

Beauty is good at climbing.

I am not.

Beauty made it to the roof easily.

I did not.

The lights on the inside were bright, as though the bulbs had been recently changed. They revealed a gruesome scene.

Corpses littered the building, splayed over crates or propped up against objects. Several even dangled from the roof, strung up by wires.

"What is this?" I demanded, pulling my mask back over my mouth and turning to face my companion. "What happened?"

Beauty shrugged helplessly. "It seemed to be some sort of Dust storage... For the White Fang."

 _The White Fang? Why does everything in this god damn city have something or other to do with the White Fang?_

"So who did this?" I asked, resisting the urge to puke up whatever was left in my stomach as I inspected the mask of one of the criminals. It was barely intact, though not enough to hide the man's horrified expression, or glazed over eyes.

I'm going to be honest. I've never seen a dead body up close before. At Beacon, we always hear stories from the seniors about who died on who's team, or how many people died on a mission, but I've never experienced it. They always seemed like ghost stories, things to scare the younger students.

I wish I hadn't.

"I'm not sure. That's why I brought you here. I thought maybe you could figure it out. I'm sure you've already noticed, but look at these."

Looking to where she was pointing, I noticed for the first time the odd cuts that lined the scant pieces of furniture in the more open area, as well as some of the longer ones that dug deep into the concrete floor.

 _Like hell. What do you think I am, the world's greatest detective?_

"What kind of weapon would slice the ground and it's surroundings up more than its opponents?" I suggested meekly, noticing the unusual amount of cuts in inanimate objects.

 _Wow. That one sounded good, Jaune. Maybe she'll actually think you know what you're doing?_

 _Shoot for the stars, kid._

Beauty nodded. "I'm not sure. It's not unusual for really strong combatants to damage their surroundings, but this does seem excessive."

I lightly flipped the body over with my foot, so that I didn't have to see it's face anymore.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

We had found nothing after a solid hour of searching, and in the end had to make a tactical retreat. Apparently, some random faunus had caught a whiff of the smell coming from the warehouse once the wind started blowing east and had called the police.

I had to take my puke bucket with me. Oh joy.

Beauty left shortly thereafter, saying she had stuff to do.

 _I do to. I still have to sleep. Whoops._

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I exited the alleyway and began sprinting down the sidewalk. I was unlikely to get any sleep tonight, but if I hurried, it wasn't impossible.

 _Haha! Glynda Goodwitch! You will never break me, never expel me, and never truly put me in detention, for my soul remains free! I am the Knight! I am Low Self Esteem! I am the Ra-_

"CRAP!" I shrieked, my inner monologue cut short as I slammed into someone, sending me tumbling around them and them crashing into the parking meter beside me. It was less of a shriek, and more of a... Thing... Not a shriek.

"Are you alright? Am I alright?" I stammered, trying to regain my bearings.

The boy I had crashed into had landed better than me, as he now sat slumped against the parking meter and rubbing the back of his head. He looked to be older than Ruby, but younger than me. Seventeen? Sixteen? Looks can be deceiving though.

Adjusting his scarf, he picked himself off of the ground and glared at me with his oddly colored eyes.

 _A scarf and earmuffs? It's not that cold out..._

 _Does everyone on Remnant have weirdly colored eyes?_

"I'll take that as a yes." I affirmed, crawling to my feet and rubbing my shoulder. For a defender of the night, I didn't fall gracefully.

Get it? Night? Fall?

Yang's rubbing off on me. I need a new teacher.

"Watch where you're going next time." He said coldly, his eyes unblinking. His inner iris was an amber-y gold, while the outer edge of it was a light rust color. Kind of like fire.

I shivered, though I wasn't sure why. You know when you get that feeling of remembering an unpleasant memory, but you can't remember it? That's what I felt.

When he didn't move, I shuffled awkwardly away from the overdressed kid.

"Staring is rude, you know." I muttered as I walked away, glancing over my shoulder once.

The blonde turned and stalked off.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _My luck has been rotten since the day I was born. Fact._

 _Yang's my best buddy. Fiction._

 _I'm not getting any sleep tonight._

 _Fact._

I stared, dumbfounded by the scene before me.

"Hello!" Pyrrha was the first to speak, waving at me.

All of the beds of JNPR had been shoved aside, and the chairs from both our dorm and RWBY's dorm (That's not enough chairs. How is there eight... Do I want to know?) had been assembled in a circle in the center of the room.

"Out late drinking again, Arc?" Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. "Not even thinking of your team."

I wisely said nothing, instead attempting to shuffle back out of the room, only to run into something.

Looking over my shoulder, my blue eyes met a determined pair of silver, her arms outstretched at either side as though trying to block the doorway.

"What is this?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's a _comic-con._ " Ruby answered.

Yang sighed. She sat at the head of the circle, on the side of the room closest to the windows with her legs crossed, as if she was some kind of mob boss. "It's an intervention, Rubes."

Ruby nodded, as though that was exactly what she had said.

"Right." I muttered, trying to get past the Scythe Wielder. Every time I leaned to one direction, she did the same. Every time.

" _Jau~ne_." Yang called. "Sit."

I really, really wanted to leave, but against my better judgement, I sat in the chair closest to the door.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Hi. Guess what?**

 **I have no excuse for this coming out late. Except for school finally starting up again, and a butt-ton of homework being piled onto my plate of 'Shit-To-Deal-With'.**

 **Sorry.**

 **Anyways, the first Oc appears! I'm going to be frank-**

 ** _"Can I be Joe?"_**

 **\- This story will have quite a few OCs, as having Roman Torchwick as a supervillain would be...**

 **Heh. That'd be awesome.**

 **But I need MOAR, so that's a thing.**


	9. Night 08

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 08**

 _His eyes reflected the flames, tearing up as the smoke poured heavily into his face._

 _Stumbling, he called out for his younger sister. There was no answer as he forced himself further through the flames, his dirty rags not catching fire like the brittle buildings around him. Screams poured through the windows as the neighbourhood turned into a hellforge, ash dancing through the air like scraps of inflammable paper._

 _Each of the boy's steps left deep smouldering prints, like footprints in mud filled with burning gasoline as he trudged through the fire._

 _He tripped over a piece of burning wood, and caught a nearby railing to steady himself. He was freezing, and growing colder as his blood turned to ice in his skin. The railing melted away under his touch, the molten steel morphing and twisting under his burning grip. He was on fire, covered in the result of his own doing._

 _So why was he so cold?_

 **THIS ISN'T ARC KNIGHT OMG WTF ARE YOU DOI-**

 _"Move!"_

 _The gunfire rang out through the market street, drowning out the sounds of glass shattering and people screaming. He ducked and weaved through the crowd, his hood pulled up over his coppery-blonde hair in an attempt to blend with the chaotic masses._

 _Vaulting through a stand, he ducked out of the sight of one of the searching gunmen._

 _"Three calling in, I lost him. Watch your backs!" The stat-icky voice was projected through the very illegal modifications made to his earmuffs, followed by the buzz of several more voices acknowledging it._

 _The police weren't here, and he was picking up interference. Jammers?_

 _Suddenly, the boy caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye._

 _Slowing his breathing, he watched as one of the ballistic masked mercenaries stalked past the open side of the stand, butting anyone that got in his away aside with the stock of his gun._

 _Bi-colored eyes widening, he watched as the man stopped, and slowly turned to face the stand._

 _The boy was moving, diving forwards and slamming a shoulder into the gut of the man and forcing him to keel over, before ramming an elbow into the side of his head and sending him stumbling away in a violence-induced daze._

 _"Sierra nine, calling in! I've got him!"_

 _The crack of a rifle echoed between the building, and one of the supports of the stand exploded into wooden splinters, causing the rickety structure to collapse in on itself._

 _Flinging himself forwards, the boy crawled on his stomach through the remnants of the still fading crowd, until he was around the corner, and out of the sniper's scope._

 _He suddenly found himself being pulled to his feet, and was spun around to stare into the expressionless mask of one of the gunmen._

 _In a split second, the boy's hand was in and out of his pocket and a flash of metal was the only warning the masked mercenary got before the butterfly knife was buried in the side of his neck._

 _He instantly stiffened, clutching to remove the already pocketed weapon from his throat and releasing the kid in the process._

 _"Scoot." The boy grunted, shoving the man aside and turning to flee._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"That was the worst hour of my life." I stated through a mouthful of Pumpkin Peats. "Never again."

"Mfmfm!" Ruby grunted happily in return through her own mouthful of... I'm really not sure what that used to be, but it's getting all over the table.

"But I'm not an alcoholic!" I explained agitatedly, taking a slurp from my People Like Grapes soda. It was an unusually long name for a soft drink, but it preaches the truth. Preach on, aluminum can. Preach on.

"Mhm! Mfmfghmfghu!"

"Repeating it doesn't make it true." I deadpanned, leaning back in my chair.

"Mhm?"

She had me there.

"Mo why were you up so early?" She asked, swallowing whatever the hell she had been eating for the past three minutes.

"I didn't get much sleep." I complained. "Nightmares."

"About being sober?"

 _More like about all of my friends being slaughtered and suspended by wires in an abandoned warehouse._

"Hilarious." The other problem was that the intervention had taken up a good hour, starting with them trying to get me to admit that I had a problem and ending with me locked in a closet behind a line of salt.

It was a rough night.

Suddenly, one of my scrolls buzzed.

Pulling out and concealing it under the table, I found a message waiting for me on my black one, with a video.

 _From: BB_

 _To: AK_

 _Subject: Watch._

 _~O~_

 _R. This is a clip from the news this morning. Watch it._

 _-B._

 _~O~_

I turned the sound off and watched the shaky camera work as Beauty's scroll zoomed in on a holo screen.

After a moment, the bloom subsided and the video became clear and smooth.

The point of view seemed to be from the ground as the news reporter no doubt babbled on over the clip of people fighting and shoving past each other, some even being trampled underfoot by the panicking crowd. Several men were scattered throughout the crowd, people doing their best to keep out of their way as they searched the area for something or someone. Beams of light danced over the crowd, little red lasers scanning over the market stalls and stands.

The camera suddenly jumped around as if the camera man was startled as several glass displays shattered.

The camera zoomed in on one of the armed men as he reached down behind a stall, and yanked a kid to his feet.

The kid seemed startled for a second, before he was spun around to face the gunman.

Suddenly, the clip paused in a flicker of movement as Beauty zoomed in on the scene.

The coppery-blonde's right hand was frozen in place, and I could clearly see the glint of some sort of knife.

 _We've got a lead. This is in Vale commons, marketing sub district. Meet me there at 11:30, and let's see what this kid knows._

 _-B._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

I was right where I needed to be, waiting across from the designated meeting place. Hidden in the shadows, I allowed myself to become one with the darkness. The night is me, and I am the night. I am justice personified, I am-

"Hey."

"God dammit!" I shrieked from my own place in the shadows, leaping out onto the sidewalk.

Suddenly, more screams ensued and I found the lenses of my mask doused in what I assume to be pepper spray.

Turning and fleeing back into the shadows, my beak suddenly made contact with Beauty's forehead, sending her stumbling backwards in surprise.

"Do- Don't _do that!_ " I hissed, using my cloak to wipe my mask off. Is this thing machine washable? I hope so.

Beauty shrugged helplessly. "I'm part cat. I can't help it."

Making sure my hood was still in place, I shot a glare at the Vigilantess before accepting the excuse. If I didn't, it would probably be racist to some degree.

"Fine." I grumbled, using the edge of my cape to wipe the lenses clean. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?"

 _She's kidding, right?_

"The plan. You know? You have a plan for picking this kid out of the thousands living in Vale, right?"

Beauty's ears flattened against her scalp. "I'm working on it."

She pulled out a sketch featuring a boy glaring at the artist, one hand in the pocket of a fur-lined hoodie and the other holding a butterfly knife in a reverse grip. He also wore earmuffs...

"I sketched this based off of a few descriptions and the shot of him in the news." She informed me, the paper rustling in the breeze. "He's blonde, rude, and subtle."

"Do we have a name?" I asked, examining the sketch.

 _"Watch where you're going next time." He said coldly, his eyes unblinking. His inner iris was an amber-y gold, while the outer edge of it was a light rust color. Kind of like fire._

"No. We're lucky to have a description." She sighed. "I've known people good at not being found, but he's practically invisible."

"Who were the gunmen from last night? The ones looking for him?"

"A local gang known as the Savants." Beauty said the name with distaste. I had never heard of them. They clearly weren't small time criminals, what with the big ass weapons they had, but they must be good at keeping under the radar. I guess not all powerful criminal groups appear in the news every week.

"Why would they be after some kid?" I asked, genuinely confused. They had sent a lot of dangerous people after him. I'm the only person I know capable of annoying people to the degree where they send trained hitmen after me.

"I'm not sure." She said carefully after a moment. "I don't know much about the Savants. I just know they're bad news."

Something told me that wasn't the whole truth.

"He must have done something to piss them off." I mused, a plan forming in my tiny brain.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **I need to work on my pacing. Hn.**

 **Hello! I've been a bit busy putting my new computer to the test, but I'm doing my best to not let it affect my writing. I wrote this chapter over and over, struggling with the best way to begin it. It has significantly less humor than the others, and so I present...**

 **[Drum Roll]**

 **AN OMAKE!**

 **This is actually a draft of the chapter that I didn't use for it being too stupid, but here yah go.**

 **ARC KNIGHT**

The 'Intervention' was a disaster.

I have the definition for Intervention.

 **JAUNEAPEDIA**

 _In-ter-ven-tion_

 _Noun_

 _An occasion on which a person with an addiction or other behavioral problem is confronted by a group of friends or family members in an attempt to persuade them to address the issue._

 **JAUNEAPEDIA**

This is not an intervention. This is psychological torture.

"SAY NO TO THE BOTTLE, JAUNE!"

"Why are you screaming at me?!" I screamed back, trying to make myself smaller in the tiny corner of the room that I had claimed.

Yang waved the bottle in a threatening manner, the liquid in it swishing around. "It's for your own good, Jauney Boy!"

"I said no!" I sobbed, trying to turn invisible. If invisibility was my semblance, it wasn't doing me much good.

Yang shoved the bottle into my face, tilting it side to side.

" _Drink me, Jaune! Let's be friends, Jaune!_ " Yang made a squeaky voice, trying to cast it onto the bottle in a half-assed ventriloquist act.

"I don't even drink!"

" _Now we both know that's not true, Jaune. You and I are good friends._ " Bottle-Xiao Long squeaked. " _You and I are really good friends. But all good things must come to an end, Buddy. How about one last drink? For old time's sake?"_

"I thought we are supposed to be ending his alcoholism, not encouraging it." Ren sighed from behind Yang.

"Relax, Ren. Once I'm done with him, he won't want to look at a bottle ever again." Yang gave a hearty laugh, taking a swig from the bottle.

And so it continued.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"Jaune?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

It has been one hour, twenty eight minutes and eleven seconds since I sealed myself in my high-tech bunker. It will reopen in one hundred years.

"Jaune, I'm begging you!" Pyrrha pleaded. "Come out of the closet!"

So maybe I embellished a bit.

This is my life now.

I have everything that I need in my new home. I brought a toothbrush, two water bottles, a box of crackers, toiletries, a flashlight, and a mound of blankets. I also brought a baggie of salt, and have created several barriers both inside and out of the closet.

"I'm never coming out, young Nikos. I've been blessed with a great wisdom, and with it I have a responsibility."

"What wisdom?" She asked, sounding confused.

"You all suck."

Cut me some slack, okay? At the time, I was extremely sleep deprived and had just gone through a torture so terrible I think I have a permanent fear of alcohol.

I didn't seal myself in this new world alone, though. I'm not that crazy.

I brought Steven, because the others wouldn't fit.

As one might suspect, I didn't have a lot of friends when I was younger. I had a lot of imaginary friends though! Some might even say I had an unhealthy amount of imaginary friends, but I honestly think that that's impossible.

One of those friends is Steven! He's been around for almost as long as I have now, getting into trouble with me and going to jail with me. My doctor said some crap 'bout Steven being a "Manifestation of my stress" or some junk like that. I was pretty little, and he was using some pretty big words. Steven didn't like that doctor.

And so Steven made him disappear.

 _Forever_.

Anywho, Steven and I are the best of bros. It wasn't easy growing up with seven sisters, but Steven was always there for me!

 _Think the salt will keep her at bay?_ The boy asked. He sat across from me, his legs crossed. I could barely see him through the tiny peep-hole in my blanket-fortress.

"It will. I've got my emergency water-pistol in my pocket, and it's loaded with holy water." I informed him. "If she gets in, there'll be hell to pay."

Steven nodded, taking off his hoodie and armor. _It's really hot in here. How are you surviving in that mound of blankets?_

"In a world of do and do not, there is no try." I said wisely.

 _That didn't make any sense._

"Jaune." Ren called. "Yang isn't here. You can come out now."

"Please! We're late for class!"

"I got you a Sloth, Jaune!"

"Nora. Put it back."

I ignored their attempts to draw me out of safety, instead allowing the warmth of my blankets to wash over me.

 **ARC JOURNAL**

 _Day two._

 _Time moves differently in this home of mine. I thought days had gone by, weeks, months, years. Decades, centuries, millennia... Whatever comes after millenia!_

 _A quick update from my scroll informed me that it had been twenty minutes._

 _This is Jaune Arc, signing out._

 _Day four_

 _I got really, really bored. It feels like it's been four days, so I wrote four days. It has actually been an hour and thirteen minutes. Why did I not bring a pencil? Steven has been draining our resources, eating crackers and drinking water. I did not think to compensate for two people, and I fear that I will soon be forced to venture out into the world. I wonder how much has changed? Do they remember me? Has the world ended?_

 _I feel the only rational explanation is that the zombie apocalypse has finally happened. When the world ends, all that will be left are Jaunes and cockroaches._

 _Day five_

 _Bored._

 _Day six_

 _Really bored._

 _Day seven_

 _Steven has eaten all of my crackers. The bastard._

 _Day eight_

 _I was thinking about eating Steven, but he looks too much like me. I would feel extremely uncomfortable about it. It would be_ _really_ _awkward._

 _Day nine_

 _I thought it was nine days. It has actually been about three hours._

 _In this place, time has no meaning and meaning has no semblance. Meaning is literally meaningless in this crumpled reality. All that's left is me and my thoughts, and even then I am so narrow minded that I can only think in concepts._

 _Damnit, I'm bored._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Yeah... I have, like, eight other drafts. They all were too... Weird.**

 **-Jaune goes out window**

 **-Jaune goes through floor**

 **-Jaune goes insane**

 **-Jaune calls in an airstrike**

 **I'm not sure what was wrong with me.**


	10. Night 09

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 09**

 **JAUNE ARC AND THE CURIOUS CAT**

 **-o-**

 _"Do you know who I am?" He spat, pulling at the rope binding him to the chair._

 _"Nothing."_

 _The older man was put off by this response. It was the first time he had heard his captor speak, and the voice sounded... Wrong. Like a pre-recorded message, or a speech help tape._

 _"Whoever- You were- it doesn't matter anymore. You are- Nothing here." The cut up audio reverberated off the walls, echoing through the dim room._

 _"Now-" The glossy black motorcycle helmet revealed no emotion as he washed his hands in the sink, the blood mixing with the water before being sucked down the drain._

 _"Do you know what time it is?"_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"This is lame." I groaned. "My plan was so much better."

"Explosions don't make plans better."

"Wrong. Explosions make everything better."

Beauty shushed me as we approached a little old lady chilling on a bench, feeding birds.

I'm craving seeds. That's not weird, is it? This mask is totally cursed.

"Hello, ma'am." Beauty greeted politely, causing the woman to look up.

Her eyes darted from Beauty to me, then back to Beauty.

Several seconds went by, and I began to get worried. Was she alright? Did she have a medical condition? _What if she's having a heart attack?!_

"Cosplayers?"

 _Wat._

"Excuse me?" Beauty asked, momentarily put off. I didn't blame her. This was the third person out of six that hasn't run off screaming in terror, and that was the first thing she said? Cosplayers?

"Cosplayers. That's what you kids call yerselves these days, ey?" She threw another handful of seeds onto the cobble. "Buncha weirdos 's what I calls you I do."

"No," Beauty protested, shaking off her surprise and holding out her sketch. "We were just looking for a friend that's gone missing. Have you seen him?"

The old lady leaned close to the picture, squinting at it. "I don' think I have."

"Are you sure?" I asked. This was a very boring method of searching for the kid, and I wanted to be sure.

She woman seemed to notice exactly what I was wearing for the first time, and her squint of death was suddenly directed at me.

"You're an ugly one, 'aint you?" She observed after a moment. "Hidin' yo' face."

 _And now I'm being unprovokedly bullied by a grandmother. Everyone wants a slice of Jaune._

"Well you're a very… Prune-y old lady." I shot back, trying to save my wounded pride.

She ' _hmph_ '-ed in disapproval, before sitting back and throwing another handful of seeds out.

"This is stupid. Why would he come back here when others could be looking for him like we are?" I complained, shoving my hands into my pockets as we strolled through the crowded square.

"You're right, we should just go with your plan. We just have to find a few military grade rocket propelled grenades and a tank." She agreed.

"That sounds dangerous."

"It was your plan, and it was sarcasm."

"Was it? It sounds unusually stupid and dangerous..." I paused mid step. "So it was."

Eventually, we came to a stop at a line of caution tape that was strung across most of the street, connecting several vacant stands together.

"A normal person would turn back." I said, peering over the tape.

Beauty ducked under the tape, completely disregarding the law. "Good thing we're dressed like freaks."

"Wait!" I called after her in a loud whisper. People had yet to take notice to the cosplayers crossing into the crime scene. "If we do this, we're law-breaking heroes! That's the worst kind!"

She seemed to not have heard me, instead venturing further into the area I was specifically begging her not to go into.

After a moment of internal debate, I ducked under the tape after her.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

" _Hello!"_

 _The man stiffened at the loud greeting, before waiting for the voice to continue._

" _Boss's wondering if you've found the kid yet."_

" _Negative."_

 _An annoyed sigh came from the other end. "Well hurry it up. He might be selling our secrets as we speak." The line went dead._

 _Quickly replacing his gloves, the man took a second to admire his handy work before leaving the room, as well as the body._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"Wait up!" I quietly shouted, broken glass crunching under my feet as I jogged after the cat faunus.

The girl in question had stopped at a destroyed wooden stand, and was now picking through the wreckage carefully with a hand.

I watched her for a few seconds, before losing my patience.

"What are you doing?"

She glanced up at me, before going back to digging through the debris. "I'm looking for clues."

"Of course." I nodded, pretending to understand why there would be clues in a collapsed stand.

Absently, I wondered what had knocked the stand down in the first place. Besides a few broken pieces, it looked like it had just fallen apart. Maybe it was old?

Suddenly, her hand came out of the pile of crap with something shiny in hand.

"It's a bullet." I said dumbly. I knew there had been shooting, and she knew there had been shooting, so why was this important? It was like trying to solve a mystery novel after knowing who did it and how. Who cares how you figured it out?

"It's a high caliber bullet that was fired from a sniper rifle." She explained patiently, as if it were obvious.

"So if we find where the sniper was, we might find some clues on what the Savants want with him?" I finished, understanding what she meant. Eventually.

 _That's impressive._

 _Only…_

"How do we find where the bullet was fired from if it was just lying on the ground?" I asked, seeing realization dawn on her too.

Suddenly, she started fumbling for her scroll.

"Are you calling your super secret contacts to deliver a Crime Scene Reconstruction Module?" I asked, getting excited. I once wanted to be a detective, for about a week, and it was my dream to have a CSRM, just like the one used in issue #56 of _Inspecteur Simmons._ It's a french comic about a Cyborg Detective. Mhm.

She unfolded the device, turning to show me a frozen frame image from the news clip she had shown me this morning.

"There." She pointed to a laser.

I studied the laser for a good thirty seconds, before a huge smile crept onto my face under the mask.

"Is it a cat thing?"

She seemed surprised. "Cat thing?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You know, little red dot. Sworn enemies?"

A contemplative atmosphere formed around her, as she tried to make sense of my words, before contemplative turned murderous.

" _There._ " She pointed to a different location on the screen, and I realized it was where the laser was coming from.

 _Ooooooh._

I quickly shuffled out of her bubble.

"Let's never talk about this again?" I suggested, a sheepish grin on my face.

It withered and died under her silent glare.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"I… Need to get a grappling hook… Or something…" I wheezed, hauling myself over the parapet and flopping weakly onto the rooftop.

Beauty stared down at me disapprovingly, as if I was something she had stepped in. "Why are you so out of shape?"

"I… Uh…" I struggled to think of an excuse. My brain was as deprived of oxygen as the rest of me. "I recently had… Lung surgery… On my lungs."

Her gaze softened. "Right. I didn't mean any offence."

I accepted her apology and her hand, allowing her to help me to my feet.

 _God, Jaune. You're such a dick!_

 _Shut up, me._

"This is a pretty small roof." I observed, my eyes sweeping across the building top. "Should be hard to miss anything."

Beauty nodded in agreement as she perched herself up on the parapet. She seemed lost in thought, staring out over the marketing square.

I was about to drop a smooth line asking what she was thinking about, something slick like 'A penny for your thoughts?' when a glint of light caught my eye. _Shiny._

"There." I pointed, already moving towards the hypnotizing light. It was just so… Shiny… I _love_ shiny things.

Beauty trailed after me, and I picked the object off of the floor before she could steal my treasure.

"It's a bullet casing." I sighed. I thought it was a quarter. I _love_ quarters. Come to think of it, I love a lot of things. Cereal, Quarters, Shiny things, and the color yellow.

"Look at this."

I turned around to find Beauty crouched in front of one of the AC units, reaching under it for something.

She suddenly stood up and spun to me, holding a piece of laminated paper in her hands.

She passed it to me after a moment, allowing me to see what was on it.

A picture of a coppery-blonde kid covered most of it, a surprised look on his face as he looked over his shoulder at the camera with two amber eyes.

 **PHAETHON**

 **This little shit was playing both sides, selling information not only to us but to the Forgers. Take him out before he gives away any more of our secrets.**

 **PS. - Lose this sheet and I'll gut you myself.**

"Charming." I commented as it began to rain. I stashed the sheet in my cloak. "And exactly what we were looking for. But what other secrets do you think they're talking about?"

Beauty shrugged. "Smuggling operations, gang hideouts, that kind of thing I guess."

"That's a pretty fake sounding name."

"Seriously?" She asked, dumbfounded.

Suddenly, sparks flew as my cloak pressed against my body, protecting me against an unseen attacker.

Acting faster than I thought I knew how, I darted forwards and held the edge of my cape up like a shield, protecting both Beauty and I from the barrage of slicing attacks from an invisible sword. Peering over the cape, I could see an outline on the other side of the roof, their arms twitching around as more gashes appeared on the wall of the rooftop entrance and the floor of the roof itself.

"What the hell?" I muttered, my mind taking in the details faster than anyone who knew me would have expected. I was also wondering what the actual hell was going on.

Beauty poked her head out to the side, and quickly retreated back behind my cape-shield as the AC unit behind her had a corner sliced off.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _Sorry for the random ARC KNIGHT thing, but this is where the chapter was going to end when I said "Fuck it! Let's keep going!"_

"Arc!" I felt a surge of panic before quickly remembering that that was one of my six vigilante nicknames. The other five were Raven, Freak, Douchebag, Clumsy, and Are-You-Kidding-Me?.

Beauty had crouched behind my cape and under my arm, and I had no doubt that she could smell my Schnee-Brand Deodorant, for when the going gets tough, remember that women like edgy men. Or something.

I wanted to ask "What?", but with the vibrations running through my body every time one of the unseen weapons hit my cloak-shield, my teeth rattled together. If I opened my mouth again, I was probably going to bite my own tongue off.

Instead, I did a little grunt/hum thing.

She looked up at me, with an expression that said ' _really?'_ before continuing.

"I'm not sure if you can see it in the dark, but there are wires flying around." She sounded very calm, which made me feel uncomfortable. She seemed to be putting a bit too much trust in the cloak I had made with sewing skills I learned from my mother several years ago and several months of allowance.

 _Wait._

 _Wires?_

I tried to signal that I was confused, before remembering that I probably always looked like that. I instead waited for her to elaborate.

She stared at me for a second, before sighing. "Dust infused wires. They are razor sharp, and each one leads back to the figure on the other side of the roof."

I tried to project a question using telekinesis. _If you have night vision, why can't you see who the figure is?_.

I'm fairly sure my message didn't get through.

"Basically," She peeked around our makeshift cover, only to duck back in just as quickly as a long gash tore itself past her. "If he can't see us, he can't hurt us. Unless he has a military grade rocket propelled grenade launcher. Or a tank."

 _Please don't say things like that!_ I telekinetically begged. _Or else a tank is going to fall out of the sky and land on me._

After another second, I realized just how badass of a way to go that would be.

"You got a plan?" I risked a question, drawing my tongue as far back into my mouth as it would go.

Beauty looked thoughtful.

"Nope."

 _We're boned._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

" _Ozz-gpin."_

 _The headmaster of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin, looked up from his paperwork._

" _It's you." Ozpin observed calmly. "The urban legends tipped me off. I've been expecting you."_

 _He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk, as well as the second mug of coffee that sat in front of it on the edge of the desk._

" _Please, sit."_

 _The man complied, removing his headwear and sitting back in the comfortable seat._

" _It's been a while, after all. Let's talk, shall we?"_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"This is why I make the plans." Beauty groaned as a wire brushed across my mask, leaving a thin line in the… Bone- Damnit. I was just getting comfortable wearing it, and then I… Never mind. "You're going to get us killed."

We were advancing on the wielder of the seriously overpowered weapon, and the wires were now connecting on all sides of my cloak, causing bright sparks to fly and cast shimmers of light across the previously invisible wire.

This unfortunately meant that the cape was now serving as less of a shield and more of a suit of armor. Beauty was probably close enough to smell my lunch, my lack of faith in this plan, and my fear.

"I've gotten us this far." I goaded. It was true that we had crossed most of the roof now, and were almost close enough to pop out and kick the crap out of our would-be murderer. "Besides, when you really think about it, you could honestly consider this a bonding experience."

"One that we will never speak of again."

 _Ouch._

"Alright," I began, ignoring the dig. "We're almost there. On my mark, you go left and I'll go right. You attack him, and I'll try to attack him."

She nodded, and I began counting the distance from him in my head.

 _One mississippi._

 _That's not a unit of measurement._

 _Two mississippi._

 _Seriously. Stop._

 _Three mississippi._

 _You're really doing this?_

 _Four mississippi._

 _There has to be a better plan, other Jaune!_

 _Five mississippi._

 _Man your battle stations, men!_

 _Six mississippi…_

 _...Nvm, brace for failure._

"Now!" I called, spinning away from the annoyed Vigilantess and unintentionally causing the cloak to fan out behind me like a blade as I twirled.

The sound of invisible wires snapping filled my ears, along with the sound of them whipping out of control and cutting into random objects like before.

 _Nice one, Jaune!_

 _I'm trying to focus, me! Shhh!_

I rushed towards the figure, only to trip over the flat surface of the concrete.

 _You messed me up, Jaune!_

 _I'm sorry!_

Without warning, something slammed into my side, and was followed by a surprised noise as a knee drove into the side of my rising head. My aura protected me, but it still hurt when the second boot crunched down on my back while Beauty no doubt tried to steady herself.

"Arc! What are you doing!" Was the last thing she said before she face-planted beside me.

Several thoughts passed through my mind in the blink of an eye as the two boots in front of us slowly and melodiously advanced. As hard as I tried, I failed to crane my neck up further than the knee pads.

 _Leave it to me to screw up the perfect plan._

 _Then again, it was my plan._

 _I had a_ _ **right**_ _to screw it up._

 _We're going to die._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Bam! Cliffhanger!**

 **As much as I screwed with your minds here, I really haven't decided on any ships. While huddling together behind a makeshift cover while someone tries to murder you might seem romantic to some…**

 **...Eh-, It's really not.**

 **Anyways, I've got some re** _ **semblance**_ **of a plot planned out, I'm still winging the dialogue minus a few quotes. Don't get me wrong, the three beginning quarters of the chapter was random as hell, but I'm working on it. I got a story board and shit.**

 **I'm also increasing the length of chapters (At least until I'm done with a few… Special ones… I love the holidays.) so that I can get to a little mini-chapter-arc thing I wanted to do for Halloween. I was gonna make a clever reference to one of my top five heroes and DLC, and it would be cool, but I'm not sure people would get it. He's rather inFamous after all.**

 **Anyways… What else? Beauty- Er, Blake now has a character tag as she's in most chapters as it is… New sexy profile picture… Yeah, I've got nothing.**

 **WAIT! Yeah I do! Can you guess what the antagonist from the first paragraph's method of communication is inspired by?**

 **See yah.**


	11. Night 10

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 10**

 **SPORTS INJURY**

 **-O-**

 _One._

 _Beat._

 _Two._

 _Beat._

 _Three._

 _Beat._

 _Four._

 _Beat._

 _Five._

 _Beat._

 _Stop._

 _..._

 _Start._

 _Go._

 _One._

 _Beat._

 _Two._

 _Beat._

 _Three._

 _Beat._

 _Four._

 _Beat._

 _Five._

 _Beat._

 _Stop._

 _Start._

 _Go._

 _One..._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

A wise man probably once said that there is a time for thinking and a time for action. It sounds like something a wise man would say, anyways.

This was certainly a time for action, but I needed to think to create said action. Is it possible that the theoretical wise man was wrong? Is there a time for both? Or did he theoretically mean that there is a time for both?

This dilemma was quickly put to rest as my eye caught a flicker of movement, and a thought ran through my head as a shining beacon amongst its peers, it's intellect and superb demonstration of sentence structure unrivaled by anything else.

 _Is that a baseball bat?_

This prodigal thought had a bright future, but was mercilessly cut down in its prime as I received a shaft of wood to the face in the least sexual way possible, rocking my world and throwing me onto my back from the powerful underhanded strike.

Or, it might be a bit sexual. If you're into that kind of thing, I guess. I don't judge.

Instinct kicking in, I flung myself to the side and narrowly avoided being smacked again by the blunt tool. My rubber gloves tore at a crack in the concrete as I scrambled to my feet, bits of upturned stone being kicked up in my wake as I tried to face the attacker while also trying to not trip over my own feet and land on my ass. It kind of worked.

Beauty darted past me, glints of metal in each hand as she lunged forwards with what appeared to be a satellite dish antenna and a rusty pipe. Both of those objects brought back painful memories of my early days as the Arc Knight. Especially the antenna.

As he backed towards the edge of the roof, the street light reflecting upwards gave me a decent look at our assailant for the first time.

A darkly colored, glossy motorcycle helmet crowned a hooded leather jacket and a pair of cargo pants. Not exactly the attire I would choose to beat the crap out of a pair of hunter-in-training, but to each their own.

Beauty's first attack was dodged, but she kept herself well defended by not giving him a chance to attack with a series of furious swings that failed to make contact. Even attacking at speeds my eyes could barely register, her victim dodged each and every one.

Suddenly, the pattern changed as the Vigilantess's next strike with her pipe was blocked, a dull thud sounding out over the destroyed roof top when wood met lead.

In an instant, the entire course of the battle shifted before my eyes as the light brown weapon sailed through the air as a mere blur, Beauty's pipe moving almost as fast as she desperately parried each blow while simultaneously losing ground and backing away, towards me.

 _Calm down, Jaune. Maybe she's just… Luring him into a false sense of security? The second he lets his guard down, she'll take him out!_

"Arc, I could use some help." Beauty called over her shoulder, dashing my hopes that this was an act. If she thought I was going to make a difference in the course of this battle, we have already lost.

"Right!" I shook of my doubts as I shifted gears from 'Park' to 'Full Blown Wimp' and began searching for a weapon.

Such a task was easier said than done, as the architects of the building neglected to prepare for a battle to the death at fifty feet. It also seemed that they had neglected to prepare for normal human beings, that had needs such as toilets and toilet paper. I'm notoriously good at holding it, but I'm fairly sure it's not healthy.

"Catch!"

I was brought out of the perfect world where it rained chocolate and people actually put toilets on rooftops as I fumbled to catch whatever was thrown at me, hoping to god that it was a weapon.

 _Jaune?_

 _What is it? Haven't you done enough?_

 _Well… It's just that that doesn't… Look like a weapon you'd be fond of._

I stared for a second at the small silver sphere in my hand, the cube-like box at the top gleaming slightly in the starlight. What really caught my eye was the triangular sticker on said box, placed next to a pin-sized hole.

…

 _A grenade…_

 _In my hand._

I squinted slightly, looking between the sphere and my hand.

 _A grenade…_

 _In my hand._

The thudding of wood against lead became semantics against the dull roar that washed over my mind as I glared at the triangular sticker.

…

...

 _I mean, is that my hand?_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _Across the city, back at Beacon, Weiss sneezed._

" _Weiss? Weiss!" Ruby called, first a question and then an accusation. "You're sick!"_

 _Weiss shook her head defeatedly from the desk pushed against the wall in the corner of the room, sighing._

" _No, I'm fine. I'm fairly sure a Schnee Brand hand-grenade just blew up one of our friends though."_

 _Ruby frowned from her bunk, the textbook propped open against the pillow forgotten. "You can sense that kind of stuff? What if it was Blake!?"_

 _Yang rolled over, looking down at Blake's empty bunk before looking to Weiss._

 _The Heiress waved away Ruby's concerns. "No, I'm sure Blake's fine. She's in the library, studying."_

" _Then who?"_

" _Probably the Arc Idiot." Weiss shrugged, as if to say 'What are you gonna do?'_

 _Ruby shook her head. "But he's in the library too, also studying."_

 _Weiss almost snorted, but that would be unladylike. Schnee's don't snort._

" _And you believe that?"_

 **ARC KNIGHT**

Slinking over to stand beside Beauty, I wiped a bit of soot off of the remaining lens of my mask. The other had shattered due to an unfortunate friendly fire incident that had occurred sometime five minutes ago.

"That was the worst practical joke… Ever." I punched her arm lightly before stretching, hearing the satisfying sound of my back crack as I turned to face our calm attacker.

He looked no worse for wear than when the battle had started, the baseball bat held loosely in one hand unable to say the same. Several new cracks ran along the surface of it, and a part of the tip had been broken off, leaving a chunk missing.

"Sorry." She apologized quietly, her narrowed eyes darting from the motorcyclist to me, and then back again. "I thought you would throw it out to where it would do no harm. I was a bit busy…"

She trailed off.

"You have blue eyes."

I cringed slightly at the observation. There were tons of people at Beacon with blue eyes, excluding all of those weird silhouettes that walked around pretending to talk about stuff all of the time. Where did those guys go, anyways?

"It's more of a teal, really." I lied, wiping away the hot liquid that ran tracks across my exposed cheek. "Might be a bit hard to tell in the lighting."

My cloak had managed to take the brunt of the explosion, though my ears were _still_ ringing, and my everything ached from the shockwaves. Stupid mass-produced explosives. Why do they have to be such decent quality?

A tapping noise began, and after a moment of searching, I pinpointed the source to be the baseball bat tapping against the antenna that protruded from the ground beside the motorcyclist.

 _Impatient, are we?_

"Raven, we can't beat him." Beauty hissed as I tightened what remained of my gloves.

"Well that's unusually pessimistic of you." I observed, secretly glad that we were about to do something rational. Like retreating.

Beauty shook her head. "I did my best, but he doesn't have a scratch on him. He's got the skills of at least a fully trained Hunter."

"No joke?" I asked, suddenly realizing how skilled she must have been to not have died fighting him. I made an excellent ally that night.

She nodded. "I'm working on a plan to lose him. If we can hold out long enough, the police might investigate the explosion."

"And if they don't?"

Beauty didn't answer, instead setting her gaze back on our attacker.

"Well, you're in luck." I informed her, sounding ten times more confident than I felt as I began to stride forwards. Hopefully not far enough to cause the man to attack, because I don't excel at stalling through fighting. "I happen to excel at wasting other people's time."

She seemed too startled to go after me as I took another slow step forwards, an easy smile on my face.

 _Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't-_

"You're pretty… Cool." I began, wincing at the lame compliment. The man seemed put off by my approach, tilting his head.

"You got a name, you… Cool guy… You?"

I received no response as I slowed to a stop. "I mean, I'm cool with you not telling me. Everyone has their secrets, even scum bag assassin- I mean, uh," _Abort, abort! This is officially the worst idea I have ever had! I have no people skills!_ "Not to say all assassins are scumbags! Some are scummier than others, and some are not very scummy at all! It's the whole killing anyone for money and having no loyalty that really puts you in with the douchebags. I mean, no! I didn't… Not to say you have no loyalty!"

Glancing over my shoulder, Beauty's face was in her hands. She seemed to not have the tolerance for watching me trip over my own words and commit social suicide as I committed real suicide.

"If you have no loyalty, that's totally awesome as well!" The man hadn't moved at all, and was just watching me. I could still do this! "But it's just, you guys are different from other douchebags because you're… I'm not saying you're a douchebag! I just mean that some… Might disagree with my opinion. Some might even go so far as to say that you assassin guys are the douchiest of them all! You know? Not my personal opinion of course, but… Uh…"

After a moment of awkward silence, a mechanical voice shattered it like glass.

"Were those- your last words?"

 _Well shit._

My ears popped as the baseball bat prepared to become reaquainted with my face.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

" _Mister Arc!"_

" _Heh?" I asked stupidly, my head shooting up from it's comfortable position on my desk. The end result was me looking like I totally wasn't sleeping, though I was afraid it was a bit too late for that._

" _Glad to see that you have rejoined us in our time of crisis, Mr. Arc." I heard several chuckled at the well executed pun. When did teachers start developing a sense of humor?_

" _Would you be so kind as to explain the effects of electromagnetic radiation on Aura?"_

 _This question is bullshit! I haven't even had my Aura unlocked for a year!_

" _Well, sir, um… When electromagnetic radiation makes contact with one's Aura… It electromagnifies their Aura."_

 _The professor raised an eyebrow. "Electromagnifies?"_

" _Exactly."_

 _Peals of laughter could be heard from around the class._

" _I suggest you drop by after class, Mr. Arc. If you have any hope of passing my class, that is." 'Suggest you' sounded suspiciously like 'Demand you to'._

 _Great._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _Pulses. Up and down and up they go, where will they stop? They simply won't._

 _They travel through the air, waves of invisible light. Where did they come from?_

 _The spike of pain tearing through the back of my head and spreading._

 _Not bad._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

I braced for impact, cringing as the bat seemed to move in slow motion, eventually downright stopping before it could bash my face in.

Opening my eyes a bit more, I could see that time had not in fact stopped, but instead the baseball bat had.

The wielder had stopped mid-swing, and was now running the other way, the baseball bat forgotten at my feet.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Extenuating circumstances resulted in my having to have to write this chapter within three hours, so I apologize for that.**

 **I'm not quite sure black was what Blake's aura color was, but I'm going to safely assume so. Kay.**


	12. Night 11

_He knows when you are sleeping,_

 _he knows when you're awake._

 _He knows where your spare key is,_

 _And now it's too late._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _It's that time of the year again. The day where spooky, scary skeletons send shivers down your spines, and children dressed as blood-thirsty monsters roam the streets. That's right; Halloween!_

 _But what significant event happened on this day for the Arc Knight, and his sexy sidekick Black Beauty, who is totally someone you do not know?_

 _Well, that's a somewhat long story. So, pull up a chair, stub your toe on it, and listen._

 _It all began when the clock struck twelve… Wait,- no. It all began when the clock struck five PM~ in the fine city of Vale, along with the words..._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 11**

 **THIS IS HALLOWEEN Part 1**

"I love Halloween."

Apparently, the words were enough to make Pyrrha smile, so I did too; flashing the plastic fangs in my mouth.

"Nora! You have to leave apples for the others."

"I've never gotten to spend it with friends before." Pyrrha commented sadly as we watched Ren try to remove Nora's face from the basin. He wasn't having much luck.

"Well… You've got us now?" I offered, unsure of what to say. "We'll make up for the other seventeen Halloweens you missed."

The girl laughed. Her headband had been replaced by a witches hat, and she wore a purple cape over her armor. I asked what she was supposed to be, and she had informed me that she was Glynda Goodwitch of the past. I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"I look forward to it."

This touching moment was so rudely interrupted by a loud ringing, and I shut my eyes.

 _Please. Go away. Stop ringing._

The ringing continued, and Pyrrha was staring at me with an odd look on her face when my eyes opened again.

"Jaune? Aren't you going to get that?"

I let out the breath I had been holding in since the ringing had started as it stopped. "I'd rather not."

I could feel a migraine begin to form in my head as the ringing began again. It might have just been me, but I could swear it was louder this time.

"Whoever is calling is very persistent." The Amazoness commented, her eyebrow furrowed.

 _Yeah. That's the kind of people I attract._

"I've gotta take this." I finally stated as it began to ring for the third time. "It might be important. I'll be right back."

I gave a wave before taking off, pushing and shoving through the crowd until I finally arrived at the washrooms. It was the kind that supported only one person at a time, with the locking door. Perfect.

Closing and locking the door behind me, I let out a deep sigh as it began ringing for the fourth time.

Picking the ringing device out of my pocket, I placed it to my ear.

"Ruby, what is it? I don't mean to be rude, but I'm kind of spending time with my-"

" _The Arc Knight. I was getting impatient."_

I almost dropped the scroll, actually taking a step backwards as though I had been hit physically by the voice.

Doing a double-take, I realized that the ringing had not been coming from _my_ scroll. It had been coming from the black scroll in my other pocket, the one I used to message the Black Beauty. This voice sounded a bit too masculine to be her.

" _I'd like to skip the questions, as we don't have a lot of time."_ The distorted voice continued. The caller ID read Unknown; usually displayed when one sets their ID to private. It's not a very smart system.

 _Haven't I seen this somewhere before?_

" _I know you like helping people, and I think that we could help each other."_

 _Yes. I have definitely seen this somewhere before._

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to sound accusing or threatening. I probably sounded like I was trying not to shit my pants. I picked the perfect place to make this call.

" _I'm not going to take that question seriously. Instead, I'm going to pretend you asked me 'What do I call you?'."_

I probably should have seen that coming.

" _You will call me Mars, and not mention this conversation to anyone else, besides your partner."_

 _Pyrrha?_

 _No… Pyrrha? Wait, I already guessed that one. Son of a-_

"My partner?" I asked, trying to play it cool. If he knew I had no idea what he was talking about, things might not turn out in my favor.

" _The one that blew you up on the roof, when you were fighting against the man in the motorcycle helmet last week. The Black Beauty."_

Oh yeah. I actually kind of considered her as more of a friend than a partner, but I guess either works. I suppose partner might even be more accurate, as I don't even know her name. I'm thinkin' it might be something like Bella, or Betty. I don't think very often, either, so I was fairly sure I had nailed it.

"How do you know about that?" I asked, keeping my voice even. I must have rolled a natural twenty.

Shut up, I'm an intelle- ehehe. That was… Really something.

" _You and I have shared interests. Sort of. You want to be the good guy, and help innocents out. This man is a cold blooded killer that has slaughtered tens of thousands in his lifetime. I will help you find him."_

That deal sounded amazing! What could possibly go wrong?

"Deal!"

A beat.

" _Wait, what?"_ Mars sounded surprised.

"Deal." I repeated, wondering if the bathroom ceiling was made of lead or something. Whatever blocks cellular signals. "You know, it means that I agree? D. E. A… Crap, what comes after the A? I before… Or was it-"

" _I heard you. Do you… You know, not want to hear my demands?"_

"Too late." I said, rubbing my fingers together with a bored expression on my face. "The deal's been made. You can't back out now."

" _What?! No! You tricked me! That is such bullshit!"_

I sighed. People these days don't know how to make a proper deal, and whine when they get burned. Wait, did I mess that up?

"Fine. I'm feeling merciful today. Go ahead, make a request."

The line was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.

" _You really are an idiot, aren't you?"_

I shrugged. "I have my moments. Lots of 'em."

" _Whatever. Listen: I-"_

"Wait!" I cut him off. "I'm not going to do anything illegal."

" _Fine."_ The voice sighed, as if annoyed at being interrupted. _"I want you to-"_

"And no hurting people, or else I'll come after you first."

" _Alright! I want you to-"_

"And no sexual favors! The Arc doesn't swing that wa-"

" _Shut UP!_ " The voice shouted, the voice modulator shifting and seemingly growing deeper. _"My GOD! Are you always this annoying?!"_

I mean, there really is no safe way to answer something like that. I didn't want to _lie_ to him, but at the same time I didn't want to risk him hanging up.

"Maybe? I mean, it's really a matter of opinion."

The line went dead.

"Aaaand I screwed that up."

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Yup. I missed the deadline. I am sorry.**

 **Alright, well. In a sudden turn of even- What the fuck am I doing, you just read it. The next part will be the rest of the story, and this is about the first half of a quarter. That's right, this is a very, VERY long one.**

 **Can you guess when the next one comes out?**

 **Happy Pre-Halloween!**


	13. Night 12

**ARC KNIGHT**

 **NIGHT 12**

 **HALLOWEEN PART 2: UNSUBTLE**

 **13 HOURS UNTIL SUNRISE**

 **-O-**

"And then he sent a message!"

I showed her my scroll, the black lettering easily visible, if not a bit hard on the eyes.

Beauty squinted at the screen as her eyes adjusted to the light, yellow orbs roving across the text on the device.

After a moment, she snorted.

"Yeah. That's… You should probably pass the scroll to me the next time he calls." She finally said, turning around and lifting the lid off of a slow cooker. The contents inside had long gone cold. "We're looking for a man?"

"Probably. Might be a woman. I don't remember." I admitted, poking through the newspapers that littered the small dining table. The apartment was bachelor heaven, with a small but neat kitchen and a large TV placed in the far corner of the living room, surrounded by couches. The one on top was dated today, so _someone_ had to be getting the mail.

"We don't have to kill him, do we?" She asked, turning towards me. Her eyes were narrow, and filled with suspicion. Sheesh.

"No, no. We've got to get something from him, though. Mars said that it would help us find the other dude. A flash drive."

She paused. "What's on it?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I think he said something about it being a roster for every White Fang member that there ever was, past and present, as in every member including ones that have quit. Say's that the guy that we fought wa-..."

I trailed off as Beauty's stare of death intensified.

"Or it could just be a bunch of cute cat pictures… I guess." I amended quickly, feeling myself pale.

"Of course."

"Or it could be anything! Really!" I insisted, trying to compel her to believe me. I wasn't sure why, but it seemed that the room's temperature had dropped significantly the moment I mentioned the White Fang. Maybe she actually has a cool origin story, like the White Fang killing her parents? I didn't think asking would be in my best interest.

"Mhm." She agreed, sifting through the multiple coats that hung on the wall. "So he's a Faunus?"

"I-... I guess." Confirming her suspicions (Though I wasn't sure if she was referring to Mars, the guy we're looking for, or the guy in the helmet), I did my best to shuffle away from her inconspicuously. Her head seemed to twist at an unnatural angle as my knee bumped into the glass coffee table.

 _That can't be healthy._

I somehow managed to unfreeze as something glimmered from the corner of my eye.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

" _I'm here. I've been here for five minutes! Come out! I thought we were all grown ups here!"_

 _The man smoothed a ripple out of his coat, doing his best to look calm and in control. Had another human been in the room, they would have been able to inform him that he was failing miserably._

" _Sorry to keep you waiting."_

 _The man spun towards the voice, his fear turning to agitation._

" _Right. Well, you see, I have a policy." The man said, trying to regain control of the situation. "If it's not delivered in thirty seconds, fifty percent off."_

 _The other man shook his head and laughed._

" _Of course."_

 _Pulling the satchel over his head, the man in the coat looked up. "So, uh… where are they?"_

" _I'm right here."_

 _The man in the coat was thrown. "What? I'm ordering Beowolves, not…" He made a circular motion with a hand. "you."_

" _There's been a… change of plans?" The door from which the man had entered slammed shut, causing him to jump. "You were going to buy them, but now you're… uh… going to be eaten."_

" _B-by Beowolves?" The man couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice as the other strolled to stand between him and the door._

 _A grin spread across his face. "Kind of. I'm pretty close, after all."_

 _He didn't have time to scream as the man lunged forwards._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"What do we have here?" I mumbled to myself, dragging the cylinder out from under the corner of the couch. The small diamond-shaped light had been long smashed, and the light couldn't escape very well though the shattered and distorted glass.

The thing that really tipped me off was a very specific detail, something that was not at all normal for a scroll.

"It's… Glowy."

Beauty seemed to forget about the previous discussion, instead coming to stand beside me as I turned the device at an angle. Her expression was one of… Well, it was basically the same she always wore; cool, collected, and unexpressive. It kind of reminded me of someone else…

Weiss?

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, squinting at the communications device and reaching to take it out of my hands.

"You know… It's glowing and stuff. You're telling me you don't see this?" I moved the scroll away from her greedy fingers, instead waving my other hand around the scroll, as well as it's yellow-gold sheen.

"No, I don't. Give it here." Her tone was quiet but demanding as she tried again for the scroll.

"No, don't! You're gonna- Agh…" I groaned as she managed to grab it, and the light died. "Now look what you did."

"What?"

I pointed an accusing finger at her. "You broke it!"

"Did not." She gave the words as fact, gesturing to the completely intact scroll.

"Did too! It's all… Not glowing and stuff now."

She tilted the scroll from side to side and stroked her chin. "Interesting."

Looking down to where I had found it, she looked under the couch. Reaching far under it, her hand eventually came out covered in dust. This concluded that the guy… Must not do a lot of dusting under couches?

"The scroll left a print in the dust there." She pointed to something under the couch, where I couldn't see. "So how did you see it?"

Dropping down onto a knee, I realized that she was right. The scroll had been too far back for anyone to have found without knowing where to look, or actively looking under the couch.

"I dunno. It was just… Glowing."

"So you've said." She stood up, brushing off her knees. "But that really doesn't explain much."

 _No, really?_

"I'm not sure what else to explain. I wasn't ever really good at english. I had the vocabulary, but these questions always got me."

Beauty sighed. "This isn't an english question. How would this even begin to resemble an english question? Why was it glowing, Raven?"

I hesitated.

"It sounds like an english question… But I'm starting to think it's a chemistry question."

She sighed.

"Nevermind. Just… Let's see what's on the scroll."

I peered over her shoulder as she unfolded the cylinder, and quickly began scrolling through it's contents. The guy didn't have a password? How convenient. I had learned that when bunking in the room across from Yang, a password is essential. Bunking anywhere within a fifty mile radius of Yang, actually. I had woken up one morning to find my scroll's wallpapers changed to… Uh, other things that were most certainly not pictures of small hamsters, puppies, kittens, or any other sort of small and warm animal that I like to hold. Instead, it was…

Eh. Stuff. It was Yang, so I'm sure you can guess.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 _Yang sneezed into her sleeve, causing Ruby to jump._

" _Is there a cold going around?" She asked uncertainly, polishing the extended blade of her scythe._

 _Yang shook her head, even as Weiss wheeled away from the Blonde Boxer in fear of catching bad jokes._

" _Nah." She chuckled. "Just a good memory."_

 _Weiss frowned from across the room. "You didn't make any sort of pun."_

 _Yang froze._

" _I've gotta go see the nurse before we head to the festival, I'll be right back."_

 _Before she could leave, however, the girl tripped over an adorable Corgi and landed flat on her face._

 **ARC KNIGHT**

I sneezed, and then giggled.

Beauty looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes glowing in the low light of the room.

"Sorry." I apologized. "I think someone just got their just-deserts."

"Right." She shook her head. "Look at this."

 **-O-**

 **BlackAndWhite:** _So, you want to buy a special something, hey?_

 **Me:** _Special somethings, actually. You have a price?_

 **BlackAndWhite:** _Straight to business. I like it. We'll discuss the details at a set location, and then you will receive your 'Product'. Meet me at the old bookstore in the Commons District. I think it was named… Tyson's Book Trade? We meet in an hour._

 **Me:** _Yeah, yeah. I know what you're talking about. See you then._

 **-O-**

"That was the most unsubtle conversation I have ever heard."

"This conversation took place a little under an hour ago." Beauty informed me, folding the scroll and placing it in one of the weird holster-things strapped to her leg. "I know where the dealer was talking about. Let's go."

"You think he's dead?" I asked as I followed her to the open window.

She leapt into the frame and looked over her shoulder at me.

"I hate to say it, but…"

"Probably?" I offered.

She nodded before leaping out into the night.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"So far, so good."

"Not really."

"We are _nailing it_."

"That could change at any-"

"Unstoppable."

Beauty shot me a glare from beside me as I pushed the creaky backdoor open, rusted metal grinding against rusted metal as it slid free.

"Sorry." I apologized, shrugging. "Just giving myself a little pep-talk. It might make this seem less bad than it actually is."

She nodded. "I can respect that."

Stepping into the building slowly, I took slow and quiet steps into the first room.

It was large and rectangular, backed with huge shelves upon shelves of books of all genres and languages. Several unopened crates were scattered throughout the bookshelves, stacked upon each other and stacked upon stacks of other books.

"It's a bookstore." She said simply.

"No?" I gasped. "We must have taken a wrong turn! This can't be Tyson's book… Oh, wait-"

She punched me lightly in the arm.

"Right, right. Sorry."

Beauty sighed as she wiped some dust off of one of the boxes and stared longingly at the label. Something about ninjas? Fitting.

"Not Tyson. His name was Tukson."

 _Ri~ight. I'll remember that. For some reason._

"What happened to him?" I asked, feeling chills run down my spine. This was _not_ the place I wanted to be on Halloween.

She shook her head sadly, and I took the hint to shut up.

Suddenly, I almost leapt into the air as one of the shelves beside me collapsed, books tumbling to the floor in a storm of dust and pages.

 _Yeah… I REALLY don't want to be here._

"So… This place, it isn't haunted or anything." I swallowed. "Right?"

Beauty shrugged. "I don't believe in ghosts."

Delving deeper into the backroom of the bookstore, the titles were less frequently in english and more frequently in other languages. Each spine read several characters of an ancient alphabet, caked in dust and long forgotten.

"Greek."

 _Eh?_

"They're in Greek. Tukson liked to collect all sorts of books, but he was a fan of Greece, and thus Greek books."

"Could he read them?"

"Mhm." She stepped carefully over a crate.

Now, I'm going on the record here to say that what happened next was _in no way,_ my fault. It could have happened to anybody, I just happen to have terrible luck.

Mid Step over the crate, my footing was lost as yet another loud cracking came from behind me, presumably another shelf collapsing, and I began tilting to the left, right into a large shelf of…

Oh, my. It's like he had a section here, dedicated to Blake Belladonna.

" _Son of a bullshi-"_ I shrieked as I tumbled to the side, slamming into the frail wood and going right through it.

The sound of wood shattering met pages flapping as a noise reminiscent of thunder rolled over the peaceful store, smashing the silence apart in a way that only I could be responsible for.

"Raven!"

My vision stopped making sense as the maelstrom of _utter bullshit_ washed over me like a wave, making my ears ring and my everything hurt as my vision blackened.

After a moment, I became aware of the fact that all of my limbs somehow remained attached to my body.

Picking my face out of a rather _detailed_ illustration of a ninja doing _things_ to another ninja, books tumbled off of my back and head as I fell onto my rear, several chunks of wood settling across the area that once housed a wall.

"It's porn!" I shouted, still in perhaps a _slight_ daze after my fall. "There is porn, in my mouth!"

"Are you alright?" Beauty asked, picking through the sea of crap towards me. The remnants of a wooden wall had mixed with what remained of a chandelier, a door, and a bookshelf or two to give the place the appearance of having had a tornado run through the building. A _very_ smutty tornado.

"Yeah." I grunted after a moment of not answering, climbing to my feet and stretching. Thank god for Aura. "'M good."

Beauty's eyes surveyed the scene from left to right, unsure as to whether or not she should be horrified, angry, or both.

"How could one person cause so much damage?" She mumbled, yellow orbs finally deciding to become numb to the destruction before her. Must be a book fan.

"It's a gift."

She marched forwards, ignoring me as she stepped through the remnants of the wall and into the front room.

Taking one last look at my handiwork, I followed.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

"That's a dead body."

"How observant."

I kept my accusing finger pointed directly at the pale corpse slumped against the counter, glazed over gaze set on the closed door and blackened windows.

"That guy. Is dead."

"Yup."

…

I shook my head. "I'm getting too used to this."

Beauty bumped the corpse with her foot, causing it to slump onto it's side. "I can't see any visible wounds from here, so I'm sure you can't see _anything_ from over there. Come here."

"Nope."

She was thrown. "What?"

"If I go over there, the law of my life dictates that it will get up, and chew my face off." I folded my arms and scoffed. "It's not happening."

"Stop being ridiculous and get over here."

"Why don't you just do it?" I whined. "You're closest."

"Stop being a child." She ordered. "It's just a dead guy… that sounded _so_ much better in my head."

Suddenly, the front door opened.

 **ARC KNIGHT**

 **Wow, look at that, it's not the last Halloween chapter, cool, yay, stuff.**

 **Anyways, look at that. I lied. Again.**

 **For reals this time, next update on Halloween. Gonna go eat a pizza pop. Kay bai.**

 **-Caecus Discord**


End file.
